Hyderabad: With the state government announcing a ten-day closure on Wednesday due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, it forced the closure of sports academies and camps. Most Stadiums in the city have been wearing a deserted look for three days.
This second exclusion dealt the sports fraternity a major blow. Well-known coach CV Nagaraj, who runs The School of Power Tennis, said it was difficult for both players and coaches in the current situation. ‘Yes, the situation is pretty bad. I do not see any tennis tournaments taking place at least until July or August. It’s hard for players. We advised them to do fitness exercises at home because we closed our academy for ten days. From now on, we follow government guidelines, ”said the veteran coach.
Somnath Ghosh, the table tennis coach who runs Somnath Ghosh MLR UTT Academy, said there has been a drastic decline in the number of pupils since the sport resumed after the first pandemic last year. “The sports activities started to return to normal after the first wave. But with the second wave we are back to the first one. The number of students coming to the academy has dropped drastically. This is a very bad time. It’s not about players; our coaches have also been demoralized. ”
Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar, the administrator of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, said that they have closed the training facilities for the students in the closure. He also said that not many people come to practice. ” A coach in each subject used to have 90 to 100 students here in the LB Stadium. But now the parents are scared and there are only seven to eight students in each discipline. The current situation has created panic among students and parents. ”
Kumar said thanks to the closure and Covid-19, we are not able to hold the summer camps, and so there is the possibility of not identifying a good talent. ‘This is the second consecutive year without summer camps. We identify talented students from these summer camps and join them in advanced training camps. But without summer camps we give admission to those who are interested. ”
RSR Murthy of St John’s Academy said there will be no summer camps this year, in view of the pandemic. ‘Usually during this part of the year there is a sea of activities in all cricket camps. But with the lock up and the rise of Covid-19, it is not possible to run any camp, ”he said.
Source: Telangana Today