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| SPORTS & WELLNESS |
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Magic
on the mat Tea time Fitness
mantra |
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Magic
on the mat
Securing attention has never been a problem for her. Right from being criticised, mocked and later on almost ostracised for taking up a sport perceived to be a male domain, to finally scripting history, Geeta Kumari Balali knows what it takes to break the glass ceiling, quite literally. The humble Iron Lady from the land of Bhiwani (Haryana), known for its world class male boxers, the 21-year-old forced her name into the history books recently by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to lay her hands on the wrestling gold medal in the history of the Commonwealth Games. She got the better of her Australian opponent in the 55kg final bout. In a chat, the eldest of five sisters shares her thoughts on the difficulty of being a woman wrestler in India, her father-cum-coach Mahabir Singh's Olympic dream, her inspiration, sister Babita, staying away from her home, Balali village and much more. How does it feel to be recognised? I feel vindicated. Winning not only a medal but becoming the first one in the country to do so is a humbling experience. I knew my hard work would pay off one day and look, it finally did and in a manner I used to dream of. The recognition is for our father, who against all odds motivated us to take up the sport. Taking up wrestling must have not been an easy choice? It was very difficult, more so for our father, Mahabir Singh. We are five sisters and all of us are wrestlers. He had to ward-off a lot of criticism. People from nearby villages used to laugh at him for allowing his daughters to take up this sport. I remember being told that nobody would marry me if I did wrestling. But it has been worth the effort and the win is more than just a sporting triumph. The mindset must have changed now? It should. The kind of reception I received on my way back to my Balali village after the win has been fabulous. People from all walks of life came to congratulate me and there has been an environment of celebration all over in Haryana. But the real victory will be when more and more girls are willingly allowed to take up sports. What is your next target? An Olympic medal is what I am aiming towards. My dad is not happy with just a Commonwealth Gold, he only talks about the Olympics. With hard work and dedication, I know I can fulfil his dream. You have an akhara at your home. What kind of facilities are there? My father is a wrestling coach. We took our first steps under his guidance at home with whatever we could manage. The training facilities were the bare minimum we could afford. As a matter of fact, we did not even have a wrestling mat to practice. What was your training schedule? For the last two years, I have been training at SAI’s training camp in Patiala. Our training used to go on from 6 in the morning till the afternoon and then again in the evening. But my father was never satisfied with our schedule. He started taking us to the ground at 4.30 in the morning. The SAI coaches, at times, used to get angry at me and told me once that I should not work that hard. Your younger sister Babita also won silver medal in the Games. She is a very hard working and talented wrestler. I was sad she did not go on to win the Gold in her category. She is bound to fare better in the coming years. Who is your role model? I used to and still take a lot of inspiration from Sushil Kumar. I always used to tell my sisters if he can do it in the men’s category, where the competition is tougher both at the domestic and world level, then in the women’s category, we can do it, too. Do you expect the government to come forward now and promote the sport in a big way? I wish it happens. But only time will tell. We have shown we can win medals and what can happen with proper facilities and guidance is anybody’s guess.
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Tea time
Around 4,200 persons are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year and about half of them are cases of gliomas, a type of cancer that can be very difficult to treat. Symptoms range from headaches and seizures to blurred vision, drowsiness and even changes in personality, memory or mental ability. As a part of the story, researchers studied 5,00,000 men and women over eight years. The team compared cancer rates among frequent coffee and tea drinkers to volunteers who consumed little or no caffeinated hot drinks. A daily cup of either drink reduced the risk by an average of 34 per cent. "These findings are of interest as glioma is the most common type of primary brain tumour and the results from this study were obtained from a very large study population," said Euan Paul, executive director of the British Coffee Association. "Other studies recently published have also demonstrated that moderate coffee consumption does not increase the risk of cancer in the breast, kidney, bladder, skin or colon," he added. Meanwhile, dubbed the 'miracle' tea, Kombucha tea can fight cancer, ward off infections, treat arthritis and even help lose weight. However, Kombucha tea, which is set to hit Britain's market soon, may not be as good as it seem to be as health experts have warned of its side-effects. Health experts have warned there is a small risk of side-effects with some people experiencing rashes, vomitting and jaundice. There are also a fear that the tea can become toxic if it is stored in ceramic containers that leach chemicals into the liquid. Experts claim that the high number of bacteria give the immune system an energy boost, which helps the body get rid of harmful toxins. Although the health benefits have not been scientifically proven, many regular drinkers claim to have been cured of ailments, including arthritis pain, indigestion, kidney stones, eczema and insomnia. It has also been credited with helping treat more serious illnesses such as cancer, high blood pressure and even improving failing eyesight. The tea is thought to boost the body's metabolism, which can help weight loss, some people claim to have shed as much 30lb. "Until more is known about both the health benefits and harmful effects surrounding this type of tea, consumption should be viewed with caution," the Daily Mail quoted Emma Williams of the British Nutrition Foundation as saying. "There is little scientific evidence available in the literature to support the beneficial effects of this tea," she said. Last year, the tea was withdrawn from hundreds of health food stores in the USA after it was found to contain small amounts of alcohol, which the bacteria had produced. Manufacturers were then ordered to ensure drinks contained no more than 0.5 per cent alcohol or issue warning labels on those with higher volumes. "It is very good for the immune system, mostly because of its probiotic activity in the intestinal tract," said Alick Bartholomew of the Kombucha Tea Network. "It is a live product and is very unpredictable — you can't predict what's going to happen. "There have been more enquiries over the past few months from people wanting to know how to make it," he added. — IANS, ANI
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Fitness
mantra
In continuation of the promise made to provide you with healthy junk-food substitutes, both for the young and older people, here are some healthy "combos," which can be consumed instead of a regular Indian meal: NUTRI-BURGER WITH COLD COFFEE INGREDIENTS Bun One Cutlet: Potato 20 gm Soya chunks 10 gm Rice flakes 10 gm Cauliflower green 10 gm Vegetables Onion Half Tomato Half Lettuce leaf 10 gm Paneer (grated) 10 gm Hung curd 10 gm Oil for saut`E9ing 5 gm Salt and spices To taste For preparing the cutlet, boil and mash potato. Soak soya chunks and rice flakes for some time. Grind soaked soya chunks in a mixer. Chop the cauliflower greens into small pieces. Now mix all ingredients with salt and pepper and saut`E9 it on a non- stick fry pan. Spread hung curd and grated paneer on both sides of the bun. Place the slices of onion and tomato with cutlet and lettuce leaf and season it with black pepper, salt and spices according to taste. The above nutri-burger will provide 390 Kcal of energy with 15 gm of proteins, 5 gm of fibre, 270 mg of calcium and 10 gm iron. Cold Coffee Toned milk 150ml Sugar 10gm Coffee one tsp Mix all the above ingredients with crushed ice in a mixer, serve chilled. One serving of cold coffee provides 140 kcal and 5gms of proteins. The above combination of nutri-burger and cold coffee will yield a total of 530 Kcal and 20gm proteins with additional benefits of fibre and minerals like calcium and iron. VEGGIE PIZZA WITH FRUIT PUNCH INGREDIENTS Pizza base Half Onion 100gm Tomato 150gm Capsicum 100gm Corns 20 gm Garlic 5gm Hung curd 20gm Paneer (grated) 20gm Sprouted green gram dal 5 gm Roasted groundnuts 10gm Grate the tomatoes, onion and ginger together and cook in a non-stick fry pan with hung curd, salt and spices to prepare a sauce. Spread this sauce on the pizza base. Grate 10 gm of paneer over this sauce. Cut the remaining vegetables and spread over this base. Roast groundnuts and spread with sprouted dal over the pizza. Grate the remaining paneer over the whole pizza and microwave for 5 minutes. This pizza provides 460 Kcal and 20 gm proteins with 3 gm fibre, 230 mg of calcium and 5 mg iron.
Apple juice 50ml Orange juice 50ml Fresh apple 25gm Fresh orange 50gm Fresh grapes 25gm Fresh papaya 25gm Mint leaves 10gm Sugar 5gm Mix well the apple and orange juice with sugar. Put in dices of orange, apple, papaya and grapes and mint leaves and grind in a mixer. Put salt for taste and crushed ice. One serving of fruit punch yields 120 Kcal and 2 gm proteins with 612 mg of vitamin A, 60 mg of Vitamin C and 2 gm fibre. The combination of veggie pizza and fruit punch provides 580 Kcal and 22 gm proteins. Therefore, even while giving a junk meal to one’s child, one can be assured that he would be getting adequate nutrients. The writer is the chief dietician, Department of Dietetics, PGI |
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daily
Junk
food,
Fruit
Punch