Chandigarh, May 7
The birth of a thalassaemic child two years ago, has in no way deterred Arti and Sanjay from going in for a second child, that too without any genetic counselling or pre-natal diagnosis as being firm believers in destiny they feel it is God who will take care of everything.

It is for this very reason that today India is home to the largest number of thalassaemic carriers in the world with close to 15,000 new cases being reported every year. On the occasion of World Thalassaemia Day tomorrow concern is being expressed over the lack of genetic counselling and ante-natal diagnosis in preventing birth of children with this genetic disorder. Among the high-risk communities in India, there is almost 15 per cent incidence rate amongst Sindhis and Parsis, followed by Lobanas and Punjabis at 5 per cent.

Despite the situation being so grim, there has been no move on the part of the government to start screening of general population for thalassaemic carriers. “There are examples of countries like Cyprus and Italy, where the problem of thalassaemia has been checked with the active involvement of socio-medical organisations,” explained a senior PGI doctor.

Being a genetic disorder, till date medical science has failed to arrive at a permanent cure for thalassaemia. “Due to early destruction of red blood corpuscles (RBCs), regular blood transfusions are required to maintain proper haemoglobin level, otherwise the child dies at an early age,” explained Dr R.K. Marwah from the Paediatrics Department at the PGI.

Doctors feel it is high time that screening for thalassaemia should be started so that the number of suspect cases comes down to 10 per cent, on whom the confirmatory test can be done. “ The University of Saurashtra was the first educational institute in the country to start screening for thalassaemia at the time of admission, but that, too, was discontinued after a while,” said a doctor stressing the need for formulation of a policy to bring the problem under control. Doctors point out that to avoid marriage between two thalassaemics it is essential that mass screening is carried out among high-risk communities. “Once a child with thalassaemia is born in a family, further births in the family must be avoided,” Dr Marwaha said.

In India, only 2 per cent of the cases are detected clinically, while the rest of thalassaemic children die without diagnosis. “If at all marriage has taken place between two thalassaemic carriers, pre-natal diagnosis to check if the foetus is also affected must be done between 10 to 12 weeks of the pregnancy, so that the option of termination of pregnancy can be undertaken,” say doctors.

Chandigarh, May 7
Practising tennis and even badminton against a wall has a great advantage for any player. In tennis, beginners normally start with playing against a wall to learn fundamentals of the game. The ball gets rebound with same force with which it was hit, thus helping the player to learn as how to make best use of every stroke. It also helps a trainee to know his weaknesses.

Sometimes players do not give much importance to wall practice. as playing against a vertical surface is generally not very exciting.

Pawan Kapoor, a tennis player, says “Practising against a wall makes one more tougher and mentally stronger. If one remains off from tennis, say for two months, then to revive one’s strokes and regain the original form, one should resort to wall practice. Wall never makes mistakes. One’s best shot always comes back’. This way one can save on the time that gets wasted in picking up balls when one plays against a player.

But few others like Kamya feel that there is no fun involved in playing against a wall since motivation comes from within and people expect to be stimulated by the outside world. However, playing against a wall can be an excellent tool for players of all levels, he adds.

Simranjit Singh, who started playing tennis three years back, says, “Beginners can improve their technique and develop consistency by playing against a wall. Even advanced players can use wall drills for everything from warm-up to final training. When your opponent, is sometimes not available at the courts, then also, resorting to wall practice is of great help.”

In badminton, also, at least in Asian style, practising against a wall can be of great help. Mr T.P.S. Puri, former national chief badminton coach says, “Though unlike tennis, the rebound will be at a slower pace in case of a shuttle, a beginner and even a regular player one can do knocking, practise lob shots and even polish one’s back hand by playing against a wall.

Long service, and parallel returns are other strokes that can be mastered by playing against a wall, he adds. A beginner must practise against a wall for at least half an hour daily prior to playing on the nets, he says.