Lockdown days: India squash ace Mahesh Mangaonkar trains Finland national team

Mumbai, June 27: With activities suspended on the professional squash tour until at least August 15, India player Mahesh Mangaonkar has shifted base to Helsinki, where he is working with the Finland national team.

World number 49 Mangaonkar was in Netherlands when he got the offer from the Finland Squash Federation to be a sparring partner to its national team. The 26-year-old resumed training in Helsinki recently after coronavrius related restrictions were eased in Finland.

During the lockdown, the Mumbai-born worked hard on his fitness and discovered love for the science behind squash.

"During the lockdown I stayed busy by finding what I can do as a job after my squash career and I discovered my love for fitness and the science behind training for the sport," he told PTI.

"I've been studying since February for an exam called Mixed Modal movement program which covers all aspects of training for specific sporting events like tennis, swimming, squash, badminton, hockey.

"Currently I am a certified fitness trainer and I am still updating my CV to work as a sport performance coach," said Mangaonkar.

Though he is already a certified squash coach, Mangaonkar feels an additional fitness certification will help him.

"I am already well qualified as a squash coach and trained many juniors in India and a few in Finland but having a fitness certification will really make me a unique sports performance coach," he said.