Kabaddi stars undertaking activities to bide time during lockdown

The players are currently spending time with their families and learning new homely skills.

While the nation is going through a lockdown period due to the coronavirus pandemic, Indian kabaddi stars are ensuring that they remain indoors by doing various activities to occupy their minds at home.

Other than occasional messages and posts that continue on their social media handles, they are also resorting to learning new things, particularly off the mat in times of isolation and social distancing.

"My son has taught me a new card game - UNO. We've been playing that a lot. Other than that, we talk, watch some TV and pass our time," said former Kabaddi player Anup Kumar to ESPN.

While UNO is keeping the 36-year-old busy in these tough times, Bengaluru Bulls raider Pawan Sehrawat has been dodging digital bullets in PUBG. He is also helping his mom with cooking.

Sehrawat said, "I play a lot of PUBG these days. I've been helping with some cooking at home to give my mother a break. I can make good aloo parathas now."

Although, while fulfilling his responsibilities at home, Pawan Sehrawat is raring to get back to the Kabaddi mat as well.

He added, "I miss mat practices with my teammates. I raid the most with whichever team I play with - Bengaluru Bulls, Railways team or even the team in my village. I can't really raid when I'm playing by myself, so I miss playing with a team."

Ace defender Vishal Bhardwaj, too, is catching up with his folks and admittedly cherishing it, as he makes up for the lost time when he is on the road plying his trade.

"We all sit together and talk for hours, watch movies and play board games at times. I help my mother in cooking and in cleaning the house," said Bhardwaj to the Sportstar.

Meanwhile, Ajay Thakur, who holds the designation of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Himachal Pradesh Police department, has gone digital to help the nation. The 2014 Asian Games gold medalist and 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winner has created a WhatsApp group to provide aid to his village Dabhota, which is located around 100 km away from Bilaspur.

"We have created this WhatsApp group - Dabhota Helpers - which includes people of my village. Through this group, we have been raising money and helping people in need, especially the daily wage workers who have no income at this point," Thakur told the TOI.

He added, "In the last week, my brother and I bought food essentials for a lot of labourers and their families in our village. We were able to supply rice and pulses to them."

The Dome, NSCI, SVP Stadium in Mumbai, meanwhile, has been converted into a quarantine facility to house the COVID-19 afflicted population.

The National Sports Club of India venue, home to the Pro-Kabaddi league team U Mumba, became the first sports site to be used as a quarantine facility in the country, as the nation continues to take measures to fight the outbreak.