Fitness. To some, it is a toned body. For others, endurance. But for sportspersons, it means a bright future.
Amal Manohar, a performance-enhancing coach, understands this as he trains some of the best sportspersons of the day from Kerala. “Fitness for a sportsperson is no more about regular strength or stamina,” says Amal, who still handles fitness regimes for Sanju Samson.
Amal’s venture, Akhada-ME High Performance Centre, a facility he opened on the campus of Love All Sports Academy in Thiruvananthapuram, caters to such requirements. Himself a national medal-winning athlete and a 400-metres hurdler, Amal launched his venture in association with Aswathy Rajendran, wife of Eldhose Paul, the first Indian to win gold for men’s triple jump at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Eldhose also trains at Akhada-ME, a corruption of ‘‘Academy’, coined from the term Akhada, which in Hindi stands for a training ground or wrestling ring.
The training space is also used by basketball players preparing for national tournaments, volleyball players returning from international competitions, cricketers gearing up for league matches, and track-and-field athletes working through rehabilitation programmes. The centre is currently training the Kerala Police Women’s Basketball team, which recently won the title at the All India Police Games.
The cricketing patrons of Akhada-Me include players from various government departments and the Kerala Cricket Association. Some of them have featured in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), like Vinoop and Alfi, who represented Kochi Blue Tigers.
Akhada-Me’s recent claim to fame is the bronze medal won by the Indian team at the Asian Volleyball Championship held in Ahmedabad. Four players on the team (Anand K, John Joseph, Hemanth Alina, and Erin Varghese) are trained by Amal and his army of six coaches.
“Anand’s case was exemplary because just about a year ago, he had suffered a shoulder injury while playing in the Prime Volley League in Hyderabad. We devised a recovery strategy for the AVC Men’s Volleyball Cup,” he says. The result — he won the Best Libero in the tournament.
Since its start in 2021, Akhad-Me has become an important part of the preparation process for several athletes and teams representing Kerala and India. Among its longest-standing associations has been the KSEB men’s and women’s basketball teams. Thanks to the added focus given to fitness, the teams recorded consistent results, emerging as one of the strongest basketball units in the country.
The centre remains a sought-after choice for athletics and badminton. Eldhose has trained here, and so have Indian badminton stars like Shankar Prasad and H S Prannoy. For athletes, who face increasingly demanding competition schedules, injury-prevention programmes are an essential part of their training routines. “Eldhose continues to use the centre as part of his preparation and recovery process,” claims Amal.
Recovery roadmaps are prepared by taking into account the load they manage and the time for their next major tournament.
“There is a need for more specialised fitness centres in Kerala. Earlier, I used to work in Bengaluru, where training sportspersons comes with big money. For me, this is a passion, more so because I was an athlete myself,” he notes.
Fitness is also cited as one of the reasons for athletes’ longevity. Some years ago, a footballer competing in the World Cup at 40 would have been a rarity, but now Cristiano Ronaldo at 41 is spearheading the Portuguese attack. The World Cup has at least eight players aged 40 and above.
It is not just in football. Serena Williams at 44 and her sister Venus at 46 are in Wimbledon women’s doubles, and Lewis Hamilton is still deep into Formula One at 41.
“Sportspersons are now reaping long-term benefits for investing in their fitness scientifically. I have heard Ronaldo splits his sleep into 90-minute sessions, ensures weekly check-ups, etc. And it is showing results,” observes Amal, adding that fitness should equip a sportsperson to adapt and hence is a science that needs focus and long-standing research.
(This was reported by Kashinath S Nayar)