Srinagar: The month of Ramzan is usually associated with fasting and prayers but in a unique initiative, footballers in the Kashmir valley are using this month for high intensity training while fasting.
It's the holy month of Ramzan, a time for prayer and fasting. This year, the sun has scorched the Kashmir valley, but the state's footballers are unperturbed.
They are using the month to test their fitness in these trying conditions. Instead of the mornings or the evenings, training starts in the afternoon under the hot sun. The idea is to see how well the players can respond to the strain.
"This month of Ramzan is a good experiment for us to see how our players can perfom without eating. They are eating in the morning and evening, but for the whole day they cannot even take water, so we are experimenting this thing," Hilal Parray says.
Even though they are hungry and the heat is unrelenting, the players seem to be enjoying the experience. And professional footballers who are back in the valley after the Santosh Trophy are backing the move.
"I am really happy that they are practising in this holy month and in fact for the first time, I have seen that players from the valley are practising during the month of Ramzan. It's good for them only, it will surely help them in future. It is a bit hard but they are doing it," Ishfaq says.
If this Ramzan coaching system works the coaches are planning that they will implement it in the team on a regular basis, and that the players are coping well with the new exercise set up.
Whatever the outcome of this new Ramzan fitness programme, there is little doubt that this lateral form of thinking is quite unique.
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