Subscribe Now! Get features like

Riya Habbu, ranked No. 1 in the under-17 category of Badminton Association of India gives priority to her fitness training and badminton during the lockdown. However, with a lot of spare time on her hands, Habbu also paints, is learning how to cook, stitch and sew.

For the 15-year-old, 2019 was a great year as she clinched the top spot in the under-17 group and also delivered memorable performances. Habbu was also a part of the Indian squad for the junior Asian badminton championship and finished third in the under-19 junior nationals held at Rajahmundry in December. A resident of Kalyaninagar, she describes a day in her life during the lockdown.

I wake up at 8am and have a light breakfast and start my day with my morning workout. It usually consists of long runs in the society to keep up the energy reserves and maintain my stamina. The session continues for an hour, later in the day I devote my time to household chores like cleaning and sweeping.

I usually take a nap for an hour, have lunch and then proceed to either paint and get creative or simply read a book.

I work on strengthening and conditioning my muscles followed by 20 minutes of core workout – the session lasts for an hour. After the workout, I enjoy watching Netflix and catching up with my friends through online games or video calls. I also utilise my free time by painting or helping my younger brother with his studies. To cheer up at night, my family religiously plays the carrom or a game of cards followed by watching news on TV.

As I am not allowed to hit the gym, I follow a workout routine given by my trainer. I do endurance training twice a week, work on agility and footwork three times a week and spend the remaining days working on flexibility and yoga. It is very important to take care of your body in times like these, we need to be able to train to the best of our abilities and use all the resources which are available. In my opinion, quarantine should not be an excuse to miss or skip training. You do not need fancy equipment or too much time, one justs need to schedule the workout properly. To keep in touch with the game I do wall-practice with a shuttle for 20 minutes a day and make it a point to watch badminton related videos and online matches.

Cooking and painting. My grandmother also encourages me to learn how to cook and teaches me something new every day which I enjoy a lot. I am also currently learning how to stitch and sew. Painting is one thing which I like since my childhood. As a player, this routine is quite different from the normal one, I hope we can all overcome this pandemic and resume our normal lives soon.

Govt may challenge HC order scrapping ration delivery plan

The Delhi government may challenge a decision by the Delhi high court to scrap the contentious doorstep delivery of ration scheme, which was aimed at providing specific food articles to the homes of Public Distribution System beneficiaries. There are around 1.7 million ration card holders in the national capital who currently go to fair price shops to get the food articles they are entitled to.

Jammu-Srinagar national highway reopened, stranded vehicles allowed towards Kashmir

Banihal/Udhampur/Jammu Hundreds of vehicles, stranded for four days, were allowed towards Kashmir on Friday night as one way was restored on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway after freshly building a road stretch to replace the one washed away in flash floods, officials said. Senior Superintendent of Police national highway, Shabir Ahmad Malik said while all blockades were removed and traffic cleared, the major problem of washing away of the road patch at Dewal bridge near Samroli on June 21 took three-and-half-days to be cleared.

Delhiwale: This way to Golcha

As part of our 'Walled City dictionary' series that explores the names of Old Delhi places. Despite being a mere courtesan, Anarkali dares Emperor Akbar with a spunky dance. Golcha cinema, in Daryaganj, is screening the digitally coloured version of the classic Mughal-e-Azam. The single-screen hall shut down six years ago (last movie screened was Kahani 2). Golcha came up in 1954. The theatre is now a ghost of its recent past.

Jammu and Kashmir to host G20 summit next year, 5-member panel formed

The Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted a five-member high-powered panel for overall coordination of G20 meetings to be held in the union territory next year. Acting upon a communique from the Union ministry of external affairs dated June 4, the principal secretary to the J&K government, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi accorded sanction for the constitution of the five-member panel.

NIA conducts searches in Jalalabad bomb blast case

The National Investigation Agency on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab in the last year's Jalalabad bomb blast case. The NIA conducted searches at 6 locations in the districts of Ferozepur, Fazilka and Tarn Taran and digital devices (mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, DVRs) , ammunition and other incriminating documents/materials were seized.

Personalise your news feed. Follow trending topics