Since the International friendlies in March, Kotal said that he has been working out at home and at a nearby football ground.
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Indian defender Pritam Kotal recently opened up about how the national football side has been focusing on keeping their bodies as fit as possible. In an interview with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kotal spoke about his role in the team, adjusting to the coach’s philosophy, the short duration camp, him taking inspiration from Virat Kohli’s fitness regime, and staying away from his local Bengali delicacies. The Indian football team is currently in Doha, training for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Kotal praised the two Indian skippers, Virat Kohli of the cricket side and Sunil Chhetri of the football side, for influencing him to maintain a healthy eating habit. “I read about how Virat Kohli approaches his fitness, his training regime, diet, and how he never ever goes against the roadmap laid down by his personal trainer. Having Sunil-bhai (Chhetri) around helped as with his controlled diet plan, Sunil-bhai’s fitness and performances reached a different level. Both Virat and Sunil-bhai are the pioneers,” he said.
Since the International friendlies in March, Kotal said that he has been working out at home and at a nearby football ground. The defender revealed that his national team coach and club coach had given him certain fitness regimes that he was working on.
“But with the second wave of the pandemic striking, I could not move out. Thereafter, I was confined to my personal gym at my house. From that time, I concentrated on high-intensity workouts focussing primarily on strength training. In the evenings I also used to work with the ball on the rooftop. But that’s nothing in comparison to hitting the green with the ball,” he said.
Kotal said that he would have preferred a longer training camp ahead of the World Cup qualifiers but they would have to make do with a shorter camp. The defender also said that footballers were extremely health conscious and they have had to make sacrifices even on vacations.
“Longer duration camps always help. Most of the boys came from their respective homes where they were all kind of locked down. The majority of us last played our last competitive match almost two months back. So a longer camp would have helped. But it is what it is,” he said.
