Lockdown in hostel room, sprinter Hima Das eyes outdoor training

Confined to their NIS hostel rooms due to lockdown, India sprinter Das and other athletes seek sports minister's permission to practise around campus

Confined to their hostel rooms at NIS Patiala amid the Coronavirus-forced lockdown, some athletes, led by star sprinter Hima Das, have requested the sports ministry to allow them to train outdoors within the campus, which is out of bounds for outsiders right now.

Deputy chief national athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair, who is supporting the move, told PTI that the Hima-led campers at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) are expecting a reply from the ministry in a day or two.

"Hima and some other athletes have written to the Sports Minister that they be allowed to train one or two hours a day in small groups at different times so that they can also practice social distancing while training at the same time," Nair told PTI from Patiala.

"They have written to Rijiju that they be sent home if no training is allowed. [But] going home is not feasible as the country is in a lockdown and Prime Minister has said everybody should be where they are. So, the ministry will not allow them to go back home but this outdoor training idea is feasible. We will know about it in a day or two," he added.

Nair said he and other coaches have supported the idea as there is no risk of any camper contracting the dreaded coronavirus as nobody is coming in and going out of the facility.

"We have 41 athletes at NIS and the track and field area is just 50m from the hostels. We can have small groups say eight athletes each and only one group will train at a time for one or two hours.

"All the athletes of a group will not do running or throwing together, one will run alone and finish it and then another will run after him or her. This way we can practice social distancing and be safe," the top athletics coach said.

Nair said without outdoor training, the athletes will have to start from scratch when the conditions improve and the new season begins. "Athletics is different. In many sports, the athletes utilise a small space but a runner or a thrower or a jumper covers a lot of distance and their cardiovascular system and physical strength has to be built continuously over a period of time.

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