Punch Soccer

ACADEMEY OF WOMEN’S FOOTBALL, V/S SPORTING ARENA

If you prefer to play a sport rather than sweat it out in a gym, here is your chance to try something new. Shatadru Dutt, 26, coach and coowner of VS Sports Arena coaches a women’s football team thrice a week with no restrictions of age, fitness or qualifications. Also coaching them is Ria Rao, 23, a young footballer who represented West Bengal in national competitions in the under 17 and under 19 category. A motley crew made up of homemakers, national rowing champions, marathon runners, basketball players and young corporates, have now made it a point to play the sport religiously for two hours thrice a week. More are following suit. “The batch is expanding so we might just start another one soon,” says Dutt.

The idea behind the academy was two-fold. One was for people like Ria Rao who loved the sport and played it in school and college but had nowhere to keep playing football as a working adult. The second was to develop the game further. Dutt who coached Rao in St Xavier’s College spotted the gap when he met more women like her. “The Calcutta Football League which is a fifth division football league has one of the oldest women’s football team and not many know about it. My aim is to build interest in the sport from the ground up so that more can play those leagues,” says Dutt.

The results of their experiment speaks for itself. Barely a couple of months since the start of the Academy, Dutt says that “the girls are already fitter and have greater stamina and endurance, better technique.” Rao believes that football can transform your mind body and soul. “I am a different person when I am playing. I eat better and sleep better,” says Rao.

At VS Sports Arena, 5A Sarat Bose Road, Lane beside Chandrani Pearls, Opposite Ashok Hall Girls Tel 7980116259 Price Rs 1,000 a month Email rohan.dutt@germinatysportz.com