The BOSM English Press interviewed Megha Meghna—the captain of the BITS Taekwondo team—about the team’s training regimen, their preparation leading up to the fest, and her experience as a captain.
Taekwondo matches are contested over three 2-minute rounds with a break of 1 minute between rounds. Each fighter attempts to knock out their opponent or score points by landing blows on their opponent’s torso or head. Kicks are allowed to both to the torso and head, whilst punches are only allowed to the body.
Q: What is the training regime of the team like?
A: Usually, we have 2 hours of practice, the first hour for general fitness exercises and the second for taekwondo. As the competition draws nearer, we have reduced general fitness to half an hour and dedicated 1.5 hours to taekwondo practice. We try not to spar (fighting) too much, as it’s not safe. At this stage, it is crucial to minimize the risk of injury in the week before BOSM, hence we’ll most likely stop hard sparring and give ourselves some rest. Our primary aim right now is to focus on technique.
While each team member usually has the same routine, we modify our routines during practice according to our individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a person can do a kick well, we give her a kick which she is currently not very good at and try to further improvise on it.
Q: Which colleges do you think will be your major rivals this year?
A: I’m not sure which colleges are coming, but over the years I’ve observed that the boys’ team usually has a lot more college teams to compete with.
Q: How did the team fare in BOSM 2018 and the outstation competitions last year? Any major problems that you faced?
A: We played quite well last year, with students from the current second-year winning silver and gold medals in various intercollegiate competitions. We have a coach who is present throughout the year, and so far, we haven’t faced any major problems.
Q: What is your recruitment process like?
A: We don’t have any specific requirements that we look for, we’re open to everyone. Since we practice all year long, we prefer that the student is regular. Even if they don’t know much about the sport, the team—along with the coach—takes all effort in teaching them.
The recruits from this batch look quite promising, although it’s a bit too soon to tell. They have been practicing tirelessly. Some of them will even be participating this year. Although we have many new recruits, thirteen team members—11 men and 2 women— are participating this time around.
Q: What draws you to Taekwondo?
A: I started playing Taekwondo before I joined BITS, and had played just enough to know that I liked the sport. The primary reason I liked the sport so much is that I had an exceptional group of seniors who always encouraged me and pushed me to do better. That spirit is something I would like to take forward as well. I don’t know whether I will continue playing Taekwondo professionally, but I shall try to continue practicing it as long as I can.
Q: How has your experience as the team captain been so far? How have you managed your academics along with the sport?
A: My experience has been quite good. I have had very helpful juniors who have grown immensely in the last year and the team is extremely enthusiastic. I have never had to deal with anything by myself, as I always have my team by my side. One of my perpetual worries is player injury. I try to take all the precautionary measures I can, and have faith in the team to implement them even in my absence. As the captain, I observe more now and that has definitely improved the way I play.
When it comes to managing acads, I believe playing a sport helps in time management and making good use of the day. I have noticed that I tend to waste more time on the days we don’t have practice. After practice, I am too tired to go anywhere else, so I end up going to my room and studying.
Q: What piece of advice would you like to give to beginners?
A: One important piece of advice I’d like to give is that perseverance is the key to mastery. One has to be dedicated and deliberate in their actions to achieve whatever they aim to achieve.