Coonoor: Train station to training ground

COONOOR: Even before the clock strikes six in the morning, a group of sportspersons assemble at an unlikely and eerily silent spot near Coonoor. For the next three hours, they sweat and strive uninterrupted. Despite the pandemic's potential to dampen their spirits, these budding sports aspirants have emerged unscathed thanks to the open space: The Wellington Railway Station. Usually dotted with tourists, the single-platform station built during the colonial era has been accommodating the athletes at a time when all other avenues are closed as part of Covid containment measures.

World Athletics certified coach and lecturer Mohammed Azarudeen, who oversees the training, told TNIE that the sportspersons undergoing high altitude training in The Nilgiris could not celebrate the National Sports Day with the same enthusiasm due to the pandemic and the concomitant lockdown restrictions.

Recently, Chief Minster Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a modernised synthetic HADP Breeks Open Air stadium in Ooty. However, many sportspersons, who are in their hometowns, are unable to benefit from this right now. “We are using this stadium once a week. On the other days, we assemble on the platform of the Wellington station, which is close to Coonoor, and undertake systematic hard ground training,” said Mohammed.

“The closure of playgrounds during the lockdown had affected our training schedule and so, we started using the deserted railway platform to maintain the players' fitness ahead of the upcoming international events,” explained Azarudeen, who has trained a candidate each for Rio Olympics and Junior Youth Olympics.

Azarudeen said that some of the players are railway staff. They prefer the stadium for running practice and use the station twice a day for six hours to do all sorts of exercises. “I am currently training athletes participating in middle distance running for Junior World Championship and other national events, including Olympics,” he added.

The coach, who is accredited of by the Sports Authority of India, has also been giving online classes for some sportspersons during the lockdown.