Covid no hindrance — shuttlers use tech to better their fitness

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 6

Winners of the recently concluded Chandigarh Badminton Championships are all praise for technology that helped them better their fitness during the Covid-induced lockdown.

Vrinda Rana (17), who won the girls' U-19 and doubles title, says there was no way she could have gained momentum if not for mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets. During the lockdown, she used to receive online fitness schedule daily from coaches, tracked her fitness routine, attended online coaching sessions and monitored her diet through technology.

"First few months were hard and stressful. However, with the help of various mobile applications, I was not only able to track my fitness activities but also remained mentally calm," said Vrinda, a trainee of the Sector 38 sports complex. "We used to get online training schedule and thereafter, we had to submit our performance on a weekly basis," she said.

On problems faced during the first tournament amid the pandemic, she said: "It was not easy to prepare for the championship. After the lockdown, it took me two months to gain back the momentum. During the initial matches, I took some time to settle down. However, now I feel good. I wish to play more championships now and adapt to the new normal," said Vrinda.

Another shuttler, Abhishek Saini (21), who won men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles titles, give credit to regular online interaction with his coaches. "Initial days were very tough. However, our coaches tracked our performance through online communication. On a daily basis, we used to attend physical fitness classes for two hours and in the evening, we would attend classes on how to improve foot-movement, choices of shots and other techniques with the help of videos available online. It helped us to stay attached to the sport" said Saini.

"It was really tough to keep the players motivated during the pandemic. We had never used gadgets in the recent times to coach our players. However, now we are getting used to it. A basic training for fitness can be easily circulated among players. However, physical training has its own advantages and nothing can replace it," said Surinder Mahajan, Secretary, Chandigarh Badminton Association, and former national coach.

from The Tribune https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/covid-no-hindrance-—-shuttlers-use-tech-to-better-their-fitness-194661