Road to fitness

Soccer punch
Academey of Women's Football v/s Sporting Arena

If you prefer to play a sport rather than sweat it out in a gym, here is your chance to try something new. Shatadru Dutt, 26, coach and coowner of VS Sports Arena coaches a women's football team thrice a week with no restrictions of age, fitness or qualifications. Also coaching them is Ria Rao, 23, a young footballer who represented West Bengal in national competitions in the under 17 and under 19 category. A motley crew made up of homemakers, national rowing champions, marathon runners, basketball players and young corporates, have now made it a point to play the sport religiously for two hours thrice a week. More are following suit. "The batch is expanding so we might just start another one soon," says Dutt.

The idea behind the academy was two-fold. One was for people like Ria Rao who loved the sport and played it in school and college but had nowhere to keep playing football as a working adult. The second was to develop the game further. Dutt who coached Rao in St Xavier's College spotted the gap when he met more women like her. "The Calcutta Football