Young athletes are waiting to bend it like Beckham again!

Scott Rodrigues had big plans for this year The Std 10 student and star football player at Matungas Don Bosco School had been training hard to be on top of the game Its my final year at school and I was hoping to bring home some laurels says Rodrigues who last October was lauded for his stellar performance in the boys U16 Ahmed Sailor Interschool Football Tournament held at the Cooperage Grounds Unfortunately the Coronavirus pandemic has dashed the 15yearolds dreams He has had to contend with forced social isolation run drills by himself and try not to think about the potentially lost football seasonNafeesh Khan cricket coachTo halt the spread of the virus and safeguard the health of athletes most major sporting events at international regional and national levels were cancelled or postponed including marathons football tournaments athletics championships and basketball games In fact the Olympics and Paralympics were postponed too for the first time in the history of the modern games and are now scheduled to be held in 2021 There is still no certainty regarding when the major sports leagues can resume play even as the country is well into the sixth month of quarantine The guidelines defining the latest unlocking of the city of Mumbai didnt make mention of group sports resuming The ramifications of this has both players and coaches worriedNutan Kumar Goel plays U16 cricket for Al Barkaat Malik Muhammad Islam English School in Kurla and will now have to compete in U19 next yearLeslie Machado football veteran and coach of Don Bosco High School says theres only so much that can be taught and practised virtually when it comes to sport The boys had been eagerly looking forward to playing the MSSA Mumbai Schools Sports Association and DSO District Sports Office tournaments Age is a big factor in sports and if no tournaments happen this year theyll end up losing a year Lets say somebody had a chance of winning the U16 Nationals In the light of the event not being held the player will have to compete in U18 next year and would have lost out on an opportunity Nutan Kumar Goel who plays cricket for the U16 at Al Barkaat Malik Muhammad Islam English School in Kurla is one such player Next year hell have to compete in the U19 team April is the most important month where summer camp matches are held The top 30 players have a chance of making it to the state level But Ive made peace with the fact that I wont be able to compete in the U16 category this year and will have to up my game for U19 To make sure he doesnt lose out Goel has set up a net in his housing society where he practises with his father Nafees Khan Goels cricket coach at the school is now pinning his hopes on the two major upcoming interschool cricket tournaments Harris Shield and Giles Shield Harris Shield was started in 1897 and has never been dropped in all these years Im hoping that this year too the authorities will hold the matches even if it means a shorter format with limited teamsHockey player Shyam Redekar 17 does squats at his Currey Road home where he finds space constraint a challenge He says not having access to grounds over the last six months might affect his performanceLast month in a setback for many students the Delhi University DU decided to restrict admissions based on sports quota It said that the 2020 admission for undergraduate courses based on extracurricular activity ECA and sports quota will only be offered for National Cadet Corps NCC and National Service Scheme NSS due to the Coronavirus outbreak Shyam Redekar a statelevel hockey player who also plays football at the district level got admission into Kandivlis Thakur College through the sports quota after appearing for the SSC exams in 2018 Now a Std 11 student of commerce Redekar says he will be compelled to channelise all his energy into academics since there are no matches Usually the points that you score through DSO matches help in securing admission to a good college I havent played any matches since March and considering the way things are moving Im not sure there will be any this year Redekar who lives at Currey Road receives fitness videos every day from a local club called Iron Born FC Due to space constraints at home Im unable to do all the exercises that they share but I make it a point to do situps pushups and leg strengthening exercises with ropes Redekars concern is that the long gap in training might set him back significantly once the matches resume As a hockey and football player access to grounds is important I will lose touch with the basics if I dont practise every day its like starting all over again says Redekar who was playing for Tata Power FC before the pandemicSatish Uchil general secretary of Maharashtra Athletics AssociationIts for the same reason that Satish Uchil general secretary and spokesperson of Maharashtra Athletics Association MAA is concerned about the performance of athletes Most running tracks in the state such as the one in Balewadi on the outskirts of Pune havent been opened yet and there are hardly any synthetic running tracks to speak of he tells us So the athletes havent received any training since the lockdown In preCOVID times the athletic season would start in FebruaryMarch but couldnt this time In April the Athletic Federation of India AFI had issued a revised calendar with Patialas National Institute of Sports that the seasons first competition would be held in the second week of September But AFI president Adille Sumariwalla revealed that September events will be rescheduled because of travel restrictions and quarantine norms Uchil says they are now looking at resuming matches for junior players November onward Abroad athletics has restarted in a big way In fact former world champion Johannes Vetter launched the second best javelin throw in history of 9776 metres at Skolimowska Memorial a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Silesia Poland says Uchil Nairobi is preparing to host the first World Athletics Continental Tour Meeting The meet named the Kip Keino Classic after distance legend Kipchoge Keino was initially scheduled for May but was moved twice to its current date of October 3 Cricket NBA and Formula 1 have bubbles and minibubbles for all players and venues But I dont know if thats possible for athletics and football A statelevel competition for men and womenmdashwere not including juniorsmdashwill see at least 800 participants from 34 districts Theres a huge risk in assembling so many people in one place like Mumbai he adds The biobubble is the new pandemicera protocol in which the arena is sealed off to the outside world Players and the coaching and support staff are tested for COVID19 before entering the bubble They are quarantined there and allowed access to only the venue and their respective hotels and are not allowed to interact with people outside the bubble Although were looking at starting athletic meets around NovemberDecember the players may not be fit enough to run Ideally they should be at their peak by that time but I dont know how that will be possibleUday PawarUday Pawar runs an eponymous badminton academy at the Goregaon Sports Club Over the past six months Pawar has been in touch with his students to keep them motivated The situation is unprecedented and its hard for students and coaches But its going to come down to the survival of the fittest Those who keep themselves physically and mentally fit will be able to see through this time says Pawar who trains city shuttler Chirag Shetty ranked number 10 globally The Thomas and Uber Cups a highlight of the season have been moved to later in the year In Chennai badminton and tennis courts have reopened after the Tamil Nadu government announced relaxations in the COVID19 lockdown While I understand that its difficult to socially distance in contact sports like football and hockey badminton can be allowed The length of the court is 44 feet so youre never within six feet of each 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