Use Sports Science at right age to develop world class sportspersons

Manipal, Karnataka, Apr 28 (UNI) Former Indian Hockey goalkeeper and Arjuna awardee Ashish Ballal today said that with proper training, planning, administration and use of the sports science at the right age, India could produce world class sportspersons.

Inaugurating a three-day international conference on ''Physical Education and Sports Sciences,'' ballal said sportspersons in the country were more prone to injuries and early burnout due to lack of scientific training.

He said the basics of physical education and training should be first inculcated in students at the school level.''Unfourtunately, it is a crude and outdated method of physical training that is being imparted in our schools.'' Ballal said, ''Sportspersons in any discipline need to achieve the desirable fitness level and more importantly maintain these levels throughout their career.'' He said that though the sports bodies in the country acknowledge the importance of sports sciences in physical education and fitness, a lot need to be done to actually use these technics from the grassroots level. ''We must look at incorporating the use of yoga in sports which will help in conditioning the body and mind.'' As many as 600 delgates, including seven foreign delegates, were participating in the conference in which 177 scientific papers on various aspects of sports would be presented.

The conference was organised by the Kasturba Medical College here in association with Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi.

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