COVID-19: Assam badminton players, coaches host online classes

Guwahati: Lack of physical activity has been quite a detrimental factor during the lockdown which has now entered the 15th day. Even though people are still searching for some viable home workout videos and many of us are following those, this has not been viable for sports persons who need strict practice regimes.

Keeping this in mind, a group of national and international-level badminton players and coaches from Assam has started a new initiative to provide free fitness regimes during the lockdown. They are doing it — you guessed it right — via online video conferencing.

The first-of-its-kind initiative, termed as ‘on stream conditioning’ or OSC, provides real-time fitness training designed exclusively for badminton players. “Through OSC, we provide four sessions per week to our viewers who are mostly badminton players,” said Vishal Garg, one of the brains behind the initiative.

OSC was developed mainly as a remedy for professional badminton players as the ongoing lockdown period has deprived them of their routine training sessions.

However, that’s not all; just like a two-pronged attack, even OSC is committed to utilise voluntary financial contributions by its members and well-wishers for a humanitarian cause like food for destitute and stray animals in this time of crisis.

The initiative has been made possible by a group of badminton players and coaches of Assam — Kabir Ali, Hirak Jyoti Neog, Anjan Buragohain, Ranjan Buragohain, Dolon Krishna Choudhury, Shubradeep Debroy, Iman Sonowal, and Orijit Chaliha.

“We do not only provide fitness and strength training, we also provide sessions on mental training, nutrition and diet, on-court tips, and counseling by players and coaches on an interactive platform,” Garg added.

Now they are in the process of hiring different professional scholars and coaches for sharing their knowledge.