Coaches, players welcome restart of indoor sports in Nagpur | More sports News
NAGPUR: With Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) allowing indoor sports activities beginning Tuesday, the sports fraternity…
NAGPUR: With Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) allowing indoor sports activities beginning Tuesday, the sports fraternity finally breathed a sigh of relief. The much-awaited order on indoor sports has paved the way for coaches and professional players to kickstart their practice.
The coaches and players were in dire straits on every front with all indoor sports activities stopped since March 2020, except for a four-month period in between. Coaches faced financial difficulties, while players lost a good amount of time, which could have been used to prepare for upcoming national tournaments.
Badminton coach Chetak Khedikar welcomed the move but lamented the lost time. “Though we are late, it is a good and logical move. First of all, badminton is a non-contact game and we can ensure proper Covid discipline is followed,” said Khedikar, a badminton coach at Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur.
Coaches across the indoor sports circuit feel that extended restrictions have hit players from all spheres. “Not only professional players but amateurs also suffered due to extended restrictions. Professionals lost good time of practice, while amateurs lost fitness and tempo to carry their career forward,” Khedikar added.
Another badminton coach Amit Raut was of the opinion that the timings are a bit weird. “Practice should be allowed throughout the day. If playing indoors is restricted to just a few hours, the purpose is defeated as more players will come at one go. Allowing play throughout the day will ensure small batches, which would boost the safety factor,” Raut said.
The head of Dr Ambedkar College Sports Academy, Arvind Joshi, who runs a table tennis club, believes it would be difficult to make up for the lost time for professional players. “After a lot of protest and exchange of memorandums, finally, it has started. Players have already lost more than 12 months and it has impacted their career big time. If authorities allow it full time, players will get time to regain the tempo,” said Joshi.
The coaches and players were in dire straits on every front with all indoor sports activities stopped since March 2020, except for a four-month period in between. Coaches faced financial difficulties, while players lost a good amount of time, which could have been used to prepare for upcoming national tournaments.
Badminton coach Chetak Khedikar welcomed the move but lamented the lost time. “Though we are late, it is a good and logical move. First of all, badminton is a non-contact game and we can ensure proper Covid discipline is followed,” said Khedikar, a badminton coach at Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur.
Coaches across the indoor sports circuit feel that extended restrictions have hit players from all spheres. “Not only professional players but amateurs also suffered due to extended restrictions. Professionals lost good time of practice, while amateurs lost fitness and tempo to carry their career forward,” Khedikar added.
Another badminton coach Amit Raut was of the opinion that the timings are a bit weird. “Practice should be allowed throughout the day. If playing indoors is restricted to just a few hours, the purpose is defeated as more players will come at one go. Allowing play throughout the day will ensure small batches, which would boost the safety factor,” Raut said.
The head of Dr Ambedkar College Sports Academy, Arvind Joshi, who runs a table tennis club, believes it would be difficult to make up for the lost time for professional players. “After a lot of protest and exchange of memorandums, finally, it has started. Players have already lost more than 12 months and it has impacted their career big time. If authorities allow it full time, players will get time to regain the tempo,” said Joshi.
