THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was not an ordinary Wednesday for aspiring cricketers in the city. It is not every day that they get an opportunity to see Anil Kumble, one of the iconic cricketers in the history of games. Not only did they get to see him in person but also could interact with the legend when he visited Greenfield stadium on the outskirts of the city. Clad in a dark blue T-shirt and jeans the former national player looked as spirited as he was on the crease during the memorable test match against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in 1999. His 10-wicket haul in the innings catapulted him to the immortal status in the minds of cricket lovers prompting many youngsters to choose spin bowling as a career. Post-retirement Kumble has dedicated his time to developing the sporting talent in the country and to do this he started a sports academy, suitably named Tenvic in memory of his 10-wicket haul in 2011.
Tenvic in association with Karyavattom Sports Facilities Limited (KSFL) launched KSFL-TENVIC Sports Coaching Academy at Greenfield Stadium on April 20. In just seven days over 150 students joined the academy.
Kumble, as the promoter of Tenvic, visited the facility on Wednesday. He interacted with the children who have enrolled for the programme. He also toured the stadium and appreciated the facilities available. He said that the training facilities are of international standards. “We look forward to bring top class coaching to budding sports person of Kerala and hope that together we will be able to create world champions of the future,” said Kumble.
The academy trains youngsters in cricket and football. Kumble said that the academy plans to include more sports such as tennis, swimming, volleyball, chess, table tennis and squash in its training list. The additional courses might begun by June. This will be the only Tenvic centre in the state. Children in the age group of 6 to 17 years can join the academy. Coaches from Bangalore will be training the children based on the curriculum developed by Kumble, Vasanth Bharadwaj, Vijay Bharadwaj, Richard McAfee, Max Constantini, Guenther Huber etc. One coach will be assigned for every 20 students. Course includes focus on diet, physical fitness and mental fitness. There are no criteria for joining the academy.
The members get to interact with one international or national player in every three months, promises Kumble.