KOCHI: Indian wrestling has been on an upward trajectory for nearly a decade now. Medals in three successive Olympics validate the assertion. But still a lot needs to be done to catch up with the best, as evident from the ongoing World Wrestling Championship, where India are yet to win a medal.
Of all handicaps, it was a lack of energy in the final moments of bouts that hurt Indian wrestlers most. Now, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) seems to have found a panacea for this. Ayurveda! The WFI has decided to write to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to employ ayurvedic therapists in national camps after its pilot project got overwhelming response from the athletes and coaches.
“We had employed ayurvedic therapists in camps in Sonepat and Lucknow on a trial basis and found that it was useful. Grapplers were finding it beneficial in terms of muscle relaxation and injury management. We have now decided to write to SAI and the sports ministry to employ therapists for full time on a long-term basis,” said WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar.
In June, six male therapists were deployed at SAI’s Sonepat centre, where the men’s national camp was going on, and four women therapists in the women’s camp in Lucknow. The therapists were experts in traditional massage based on the Kerala style and Kalaripayattu, a martial art form from Kerala. Within 15 days, the coaches and wrestlers were convinced about the healing powers of the new methods.
“We used a mix of systems including Ayurvedic pressure point massage and Kalaripayattu. Results were good,” said Satheesh Babu, one of the therapists.
During the experimental phase, the sessions started with ‘panchkarma’. The wrestlers were given a kind of massage using herbal pouches and after that, one-hour regular massage was employed to relax the muscles. For the injured, special courses lasting seven days were employed and within five days, most of them were able to return to the mat, said one of the coaches. The rehabilitation process of those with injured vertebral discs became quicker, after the sessions, claimed Satheesh.
WFI secretary VN Prasood said they were using ayurveda for grapplers who were earlier finding it tough to last the full bout. “The wrestlers, after the sessions, said they don’t feel fatigue anymore in the last minutes. Earlier, that was not the case,” he said.
shan@newindianexpress.com