Manipur: Camp for budding women cricketers underway at Luwangpokpa Cricket
IMPHAL, April 26, 2018: Budding women cricketers from the region are likely to get a much-needed skill boost after a gruelling 21-day session of U-19 Girls Zonal Cricket Academy Camp for the Northeast and Bihar zones which is under way at Luwangpokpa Cricket Stadium in Manipur.
The camp took off on April 23 with 25 selected girls from Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Bihar. The trainees had a rigorous training session under five coaches, hosted by the Manipur Cricket Association under the aegis of National Cricket Academy, Bangalore and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Bihar has the maximum trainees with five girls while the rest of the states have four representation each.
The camp's head coach Pushpanjali Banerjee said, "The main objective of the camp is to develop women's cricket in the eastern region. The trainees are good. They showed excellent progress and can face the challenges that lie ahead."
She added that this is the first time that a zonal camp of the Northeast and Bihar is being held for women cricketers. "It will be a turning point for the trainees. Though they have somewhat grasps on the game, the nitty-gritty will be taught to them," she said.
Banerjee said, "We are strictly monitoring the fitness and skill of every trainee. After the assessment, we will start the classroom programme and field exercises. At the end, we will pick up 15 girls to prepare them for the Northeast and Bihar zonal team for the inter-zonal meet."
Apart from Banerjee, four other coaches are Rituparna Roy, Kikam Bhutia, Praveen Tokas and Hithaishi B. Two physiotherapists – Pooja Swar and Anuradha Rakhonde – along with video analyst Utpal Das – are also assessing the camp.
Similar zonal camps for the Northeast and Bihar under-16 and under-19 boys have started simultaneously in Shillong and Dimapur respectively on April 23. Manipur has five boys each in the camp.
Source, Image Courtesy: The Telegraph
