Women’s hockey team gets ready to kick some butt

Abhimanyu Mathur

The Indian women's hockey team is in Delhi to prepare for the upcoming World Hockey League Semifinals in South Africa. While the team, which leaves today, has been sweating it out in their training camp every day, they had a little 'extra-curricular' break this week, when the focus shifted briefly from hockey to contact sports like kickboxing and boxing. On Tuesday, the team visited a kickboxing gym in Greater Kailash as part of Hockey India's efforts to mix some fun with their intense training. The girls put on their boxing gloves and tried some 'jabs' of a different kind under the surveillance of their trainers. During an hour-long session, they were taught some basic punching and kicking techniques as well as light exercises to improve footwork. Rahul, a trainer at the gym, told us, "We focused on functional training. The coach told us that even in hockey, they have to 'jab' with their sticks if they want to pass or shoot. So we worked on improving their punches and jabs and building on other skills, which come in handy in both boxing and hockey."

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