Stephen Constantine takes India U-17 team for a fun Go-karting session

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New Delhi, Feb 23: With an aim to manage stress and allow the young footballers to have some fun time, head coach of the Indian senior national team Stephen Constantine took the FIFA U-17 World Cup probables for a Go Karting session.

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The Under-17 squad is without a regular coach and it's being trained by Constantine and his support stuff that includes sports scientist Danny Deegan, goalkeeping coach Rogerio Ramos, national team assistant coach Shanmugam Venkatesh and AIFF's technical director Savio Medeira.

"It is always good to take the boys out of their comfort zone and at the same time have some fun. I cannot say who the fastest was but for sure it was a staff member," Constantine told www.the-aiff.com

In a first for many players, Go Karting struck a chord with the squad and left all in a jolly mood, the release stated.

"We were pumped up for the training session and then the coach (Stephen Constantine) told us that we were going for Go Karting.

"It was a chance for us to do something new and out of the world, blowing off some steam in the process," Aniket Jadhav was quoted as saying.

"We enjoyed a lot and had fun. I think I drove the fastest lap," Aniket laughs. Komal said, "It was a first for me. I had never done Go Karting and learning something is always great.

"You need to take your mind of football and sometimes these activities help us a lot to regain our focus while refreshing us," he added.

Savio Mederia hailed Constantine's approach. "It is imperative for young footballers to develop in a safe and fun environment.

"Heaping them with pressure on the pitch can sometimes result in mental fatigue. Activities such as this go a long way in helping a Footballer in balancing out the mental stress," he opined.

"We need to understand that they are young and they too want to have fun just like other boys," he added.

The Indian football Team Twitter handle shared some pictures of the Go-karting seasonn.

PTI