Time to be a sport

How much can you possibly do within the four walls of your home For sportspersons the possibilities are endless Ashwini Ponnappa hits her HECS ball against the wall and Bhaichung Bhutia juggles a football in his living room And while players are adapting to the lockdown coaching institutions and academies are also going digital This week Indias Minister of State for Youth Affairs amp Sports Kiren Rijiju attended the firstever online knowledge enhancement workshop for coaches put together by the Sports Authority of India SAI MS Dhoni Cricket Academy is offering live classes on Facebook for its trainees and so is R Ashwins GenNext Cricket InstituteJatin ParanjapeNBA has also taken basketball training online under its NBA Basketball School programme which is open to male and female players aged between six and 18 The biweekly online sessions are being facilitated across 17 afterschool programme partners throughout the country with two coaches helming each session Marc Pulles basketball operations team leader NBA India asserts that the space limitations of Indian homes were specifically kept in mind while designing the model Not everyone has access to wideopen spaces we did not want that to become a hindrance The minimum requirement is to have a basketball he says A typical session he adds begins with a warmup some ballhandling drills form shooting work and defensive work We finish up with a group discussion on a basketballrelated topic and assign participants some videos to watch and give homework to do such as form shooting he shares in an email interviewAn online session by NBA Basketball SchoolKheloMore a platform founded by former cricketer Jatin Paranjape which enables people to book sportsrelated facilities has launched a section on their website called Train At Home Here youll see two dropdown lists type of sport and level So if you choose cricket you will find videos for beginners intermediates and pros We had limited content that we had planned for the week before the lockdown was announced However we reached out to each and every coach associated with the website to make more videos and take more sessions online so that the learning doesnt stop Paranjape shares The work for the section started in the second week of March with the first video being rolled out on March 22 The response has been great too We received more than 3000 views per day and till date the total number of unique views has been over two lakhs he addsEarlier this month on Instagram IG former professional tennis player Somdev Devvarman started a page called Players Are Ready Thank You with a bio that reads Talking about whats going on in the tennis world Its apt considering you get to see Devvarman in conversation with producer Rachna Nayyar who hes worked with closely and sometimes other personalities from the tennis community like Sumit Nagal There are IG live sessions after which snippets are posted on the pageA KheloMore tutorial by tennis player Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan The format is lighthearted even though the subjects under discussion are not you get to hear about how players rankings have been affected due to the suspension of matches the psychological impact of such a break and recent news such as the Indian Fed Cup team qualifying for the playoffs for the first time From his Chennai home Devvarman tells us that the lockdown hasnt been all that bad for him as he gets to stay indoors with his wife and dogs He also explains that the page wasnt an outlet to bring about awareness of how the community is being affected per se There are bigger problems at hand The point was to keep the conversation going Theres always someone with a good story to tell and a valid point to share he saysMarc PullesDevvarman 35 has also started a fundraiser for the tennis markers ball kids and support staff who have been affected due to the lockdown through his charity Life Is A Ball The response has been amazing in 48 hours I made calls to Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi and they came on board immediately he says The larger point of an online platform like his he hopes is to cast a wider net of solidarity I was speaking to some of the golf caddies who earn from tips and they have been massively hit The sports industry relies on people going to clubs and taking lessons So what I want the page to also do is encourage people from their own communities mdash be it track and field or golf mdash to reach out and offer supportLog on play onFor home training khelomorecomFor discussions Players Are Ready Thank You on IGTo take a challenge Community Football Club India on IGFor talks Sports Authority of India on FacebookCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news