CHENNAI: With Tamil Nadu relaxing the lockdown norms, former India hockey captain V Baskaran has batted for the sports activities to resume one by one. Though certain athletes are training on their own, he was of the opinion that Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) should permit them to train in small batches.
“The government is doing a good job in trying to contain the virus. My humble suggestion is to open all the SDAT training facilities, ” said the Chennai Hockey Association president. Most of the athletes might be rusty as they have been staying indoors since March and have stuck to basic fitness programmes. In some cases, even that hasn’t been possible.
“Every game involves different skills, tactics while training. The coaches are also aware of the standard operating procedures (SOP) and the players too understand that they have to follow certain procedures. The government and the SDAT can permit the players to train in batches with coaches following the SOP strictly,” he added.
Baskaran felt that even allowing the athletes to train for one hour per day will help them get back to groove. “One hour for each team, three sessions a week to start with. Then after two weeks a little more relaxation in SOP,” he added.