Bhubaneswar: The 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the pandemic coronavirus has severely affected the lifestyle of all and sundry across the country. The Odisha capital is no exception to the rule. However, some of Odisha’s renowned sports personalities are also seeing the brighter side of the lockdown.
Chess stars like Padmini Rout and Saina Salonika and cricketer Govind Poddar all said Sunday that they are indeed feeling happy after being able to spend some quality time with their families.
Padmini’s father who underwent a kidney transplant surgery in Kolkata a few weeks back returned to the city along with her mom Saturday in a car. Padmini while sharing the news also asked the readers of Orissa POST to stay safe and ‘enjoy’ the lockdown as it is good for the country.
Padmini however, is keeping herself busy playing online chess tournaments. “Online tournaments take place on a regular basis in the Blitz format. There are events where you have to make let’s say complete a game in three minutes. Participating in such events is good for training and also keeps me busy,” the three-time national champion said.
Other than that, Padmini is also spending quality time with her family members, more so with her grandfather and grandmother in town. “Our lives are so hectic, rarely does one get so much of time to spend at home. So I am really enjoying catching up with my folks,” Padmini stated. She is also catching up on her reading… both books on chess and non-fictional stuff.
In between she is also not forgetting to call up her Chinese friends and enquire about their well being. Padmini is a regular participant in the Chinese Chess League and has a large number of friends in the COVID-19 devastated country. “The other day only I called up a friend. Other than being under lockdown, she said that she is fine,” informed Padmini.
Cricketer Govind is enjoying the time doing the chores his mom is asking him to do on a daily basis. In between he is also finding some time to do some knocking at the nets, though not on a daily basis. “I don’t remember whether I have spent so much time with my family in the last 15 years,” Govind said over the phone from Rourkela.
The added incentive for Govind is his seventh-month-old niece. “I am seeing him grow, it’s an amazing feeling,” Govind said. “That he has started recognising me is a fantastic experience,” the Odisha batsman added.
The ‘lots of time’ factor has also given Govind the chance of brushing up his culinary skills. “I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen,” Govind said. “Trying out new recipes and even the known ones. I love to cook,” he explained.
In between he is quick to point down that there are silver linings also amid the country-wide lockdown and the threat of COVID-19. “I don’t remember when I have seen Rourkela so green in the last 15 years,” Govind said. “The other day I heard in the news that global warming has also come down. This must be because of the lockdown imposed in many countries,” he observed.
For Saina, however, the days of lockdown are quite hectic. Like Padmini she is also spending time playing Blitz tournaments. The class –XII student of a reputed institution here, however said that her online classes are on. “From 8.30am till 1.30pm, I attend online classes. Then I take a short break,” Saina informed.
More importantly, she is happy that she is getting quality time to spend with her family. “I don’t remember when was the last time we all watched TV together… me, my elder sister, dad and mom,” Saina informed. We have become so busy that we rarely get such precious moments. So I am enjoying the time real well,” she added.
Saina however, is a bit disappointed that the lockdown has prevented her from participating in a number of tournaments. “Well I will start preparations for my board exams from August. So I had planned to play tournaments till June-July. But now I have been forced to shelve those plans,” Saina stated. “But then whatever is happening is to save us. So one has to sacrifice a bit,” she signed off.
PNN