E-Paper
Shadow practice at Pune home helps Pritha Vartikar paddle through the gloomy lockdown
Coach Soumen Saha’s video calls, shadow practice of different shots and fitness drills at home or on the terrace – sum up Vartikar’s day, who is no. 2 in sub-junior girls category in Table Tennis Federation of India ranking
One of the finest paddlers from the city, 13-year-old Pritha Vartikar, is definitely upset with the lockdown as she had planned to participate in internationals tournaments, but she believes this is necessary to win the war against Covid-19 and is following a strict practice routine.
Coach Soumen Saha’s video calls, shadow practice of different shots and fitness drills at home or on the terrace – sum up Vartikar’s day, who is no. 2 in sub-junior girls category in Table Tennis Federation of India ranking.
Vartikar had a memorable 2019 as she became a national champion in the sub junior category in the UTT 81st Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championship, Dharamshala in November. Good form continued till January as Vartikar won the under-14 title in UTT 65th National School Games table tennis championship in Vadodara.
Along with her practice routine, Vartikar is also in touch with NGO Lakshya. Every Tuesday, Lakshya conducts a conference call from 11am to 2pm where all supported athletes are updated about their diet, fitness and mental training. Vartikar, is currently locked down at her home at Sus road, Pashan.
Morning session:
I wake up at 8:30am and from 9am, shadow practice starts. The session is of one hour and after that 20 minutes is allotted to exercises like skipping. My coach has fixed the schedule and every day, I have shadow practice of a different shot.
Shadow drills actually help a lot as you start getting the feel of how your shot will be played. I finish my training by 10:30am and then, have my breakfast and take rest. (In a shadow drill, a player practices the shot without using a ball. Only action of a shot is repeated to get it done perfectly. It helps players to get feel of one’s shot. Player can also practice footwork drills along with shadow drill.)
Afternoon session:
After having my lunch, I listen to music or watch the television. I also sleep for an hour and spend time with my mother.
Evening session:
In evening, I dedicate one hour to fitness in which focus is on core exercises and stretching along with squats, push-ups, lunges and burpees.
I like to write so once my fitness routine is complete, I spend time writing. It is basic writing like reading text from my English textbook and writing it down in my notebook.
After all these activities, I have my dinner and then, again I watch television for sometime or read a book.
Gym
I don’t have gym sessions in my normal days as well. The work out which is given by my coach takes care of my fitness level. I do miss training on the court as it was the season of international tournaments and I was preparing to take part in those tournaments. I was selected to play the 2020 ITTF World Junior Circuit Premium, India Junior and Cadet open, Kolkata, Belgium Junior and cadet Open and French Junior.
Situation is not conducive to play and as players we need to be focussed on our fitness drills during this time. I hope the situation improves soon as I am eager to see all the sports action in the city getting back on track.
