Bhubaneswar, May 12: Summer camps being held across the state are injecting a much-needed boost to sports, such as hockey, kabaddi, table tennis and swimming in the face of cricket's continued popularity. These camps are different from regular camps that are held in summer - the participants are not only introduced to a sport but are also trained to take it up as professionals.
The Young Generation Table Tennis Association in Cuttack is conducting a summer coaching camp for budding players at the Sachin Tendulkar Indoor Hall in Barabati Stadium. The youngsters are put through two sessions each day. Former national team coach Raj S. Subramaniam is coaching the players at the camp, which will continue till the third week of June.
"We have invited state-level players and national-level coaches to coach the trainees. The camp, which is getting support from Odisha State Table Tennis Association, has 50 youngsters on its books," said the association's organising secretary Nihar Ranjan Mishra.
A summer kabaddi camp has also begun at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The camp, which began on May 9, has enrolled 70 boys and girls. Here too, state and national-level players are training the participants.
On the other hand, children in Rourkela have focussed their attention to hockey, football and kabaddi with the Rourkela Steel Plant organising summer camps. In Puri, the district swimming association is hosting a camp to groom youngsters who want to compete professionally.
With the growing popularity of sporting leagues and the rise in television coverage of these events, parents, too, are willing to send their children to sport camps.
Kabaddi coach Sanhita Das, who is conducting a camp in Bhubaneswar free of cost, said they had to approach schools and colleges to convince youngsters to take up the sport.
"Pro Kabaddi has made the sport popular. We had planned the camp for 40 kids, but applications are flooding in and we had to extend it to 70 participants. Parents, who earlier discouraged their kids from taking up field sports, are now encouraging them. We have participants from Puri, Gajapati and Cuttack coming here for the camp. There are more than 25 girls at the camp," said Das.
The camps are also helping the sports associations spot new talent and groom them for sub-junior and junior levels. "We need to groom new players. Kids from poor families took up sports earlier, but now people from all classes of society are encouraging their children to join sports camps," Das added.
"I'm enjoying it. I am learning about the footwork and stances needed in kabaddi. It needs you to be agile and learning the tricks is fun," said Class-IX student Sasmita Pati from Kalarahanga.
