New Delhi, India
While the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has moved sports enthusiasts and newbies indoors, halting their regular practice sessions, they have managed to turn the tables on these limitations and are finding new ways to carry on. With no access to the outdoors, people are reinventing how they play sports with the resources available to them at home, and to that end, have got their creative juices flowing.
Adding to the momentum, Indian table tennis players Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran joined the conversation on Twitter and shared interesting tips and tricks.
When training with one hand is just not good enough
Hitting some balls alongwith my best friend at home @BUTTERFLY_JAPAN Amicus Prime Robot !!#sathiyan #tabletennis #sports #fridayfeeling #lockdown https://t.co/5p7ixnJTIj pic.twitter.com/vHoK0iL6Uo
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
Commenting on this, Manika Batra, Indian star paddler said, âIt feels great to engage with people during this lockdown. Twitter is a great place to have conversations and I am glad that we are able to spread and create awareness about staying fit while at home through the service. I hope this will motivate fans to stay positive and active during these difficult times.â
Both the players also interacted with fans through Twitter Q&As and answered questions on the service. Manika shared her quarantine routine, her favourite Bollywood actors and gave an encouraging message for young players, whereas, Sathiyan answered questions on players he follows, his favourite childhood cartoon and revealed that he would love to have a match with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
Haha thatâs one thing which I have not yet tried out as I do care a lot about my momâs health https://t.co/gEemlpp5SX
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
My favorite actors are Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal https://t.co/cTXAqWbHGL
â Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020
Itâs @rogerfederer
Practice session with @BUTTERFLY_JAPAN Amicus Prime Robot is going great and playing a lot of specific skills.
Thank you . https://t.co/nhVQ8InW2r
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
Working on physical fitness, meditation, watching TV series. Also helping people directly and indirectly.. https://t.co/YJhuetPujG
â Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020
I have tried my hand on gardening , ventured into Yoga and probably looking to learn some new language (may be little bit of Japanese) to prepare myself for Olympics https://t.co/befWxdUCe0
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
An age is good to start playing but if we talk about childrens to be a champion then 3 and half or 4 is the good age to hold a racquet in your hand. https://t.co/8U4LJ7YidE
â Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020
Haha I am not that great at playing Cricket and donât want to embarrass myself, I would definitely love to play a game of TT with @sachin_rt sir and teach him some skills !!
I would also be very keen to know on how he developed the liking for TT https://t.co/URuIcQoBPE
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
Popeye https://t.co/vIBqqVof3z
â Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020
Recently, the Pandya brothers too challenged each other to a game of at-home table tennis.
ALSO READ: SAI formulates SOP for centres but training to resume only after MHA clearance
#PandyaBros in action in a different sport @hardikpandya7 and I are always competitive with each other Who do you think won this round? pic.twitter.com/4jjlatV15P
â Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) April 23, 2020
In fact, they are not the only ones. Twitter India asked people to send pictures of their makeshift table tennis set-ups and they reverted with some jaw-dropping videos, including para-badminton athlete Manasi Nayana Joshi, take a look:
Ping-Pong, Ping-Pong , smash! Who else is playing table tennis at home? Show us your makeshift TT setup, let's see who has got game! Any tips for these players @manikabatra_TT and @sathiyantt?
â Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) May 14, 2020
My TT game definitely getting stronger in this lockdown pic.twitter.com/DtRzmXhy3v
â Manasi Nayana Joshi (@joshimanasi11) May 14, 2020
Here's one unique makeshift TT setup @TwitterIndia
Would anyone like to try #Windscreen?
Credit: Vijender Sharma pic.twitter.com/d4k65KB3zZ
â Ultimate TableTennis (@UltTableTennis) May 15, 2020
My table tennis setup keeps getting interesting everyday @TwitterIndia @sathiyantt @manikabatra_TT pic.twitter.com/ZdSavpUdjl
â Pongpotter (@pongpotter_) May 15, 2020
Stay tuned as real-time conversations around the table tennis and other sports continue to unfold on Twitter.