Rising pollution keeps children indoors, sports coaching attendance drops

Rising pollution levels and a deteriorating Air Quality Index AQI are disrupting childrenrsquos outdoor routines across the city forcing many to skip daily sports coaching With parents unwilling to expose their children to polluted air playgrounds and training grounds are seeing thinning crowds Doctors warn that long spells indoors and reduced physical activity can increase the risk of obesity weakened immunity rising screen dependence and behavioural issues among other issuesAffecting childrenDharv Semlani with his mother Pooja SemlaniPooja Semlani mother of fouryearold Dharv said ldquoWhile we were relieved that coaching was suspended my son was completely disheartened He would insist on going and it was difficult to say no Now we make him practice yoga and draw but missing those two hours outdoors makes him restlessrdquoAyaan Rustomfram with his mother Kiran ShahKiran Shah mother of eightyearold Ayaan said ldquoWe have a big living room where he can play but he gets bored because he loves being outdoors He will not be able to hold on to his patience for long since he also cannot meet his football buddiesrdquoAcademy owner Ronnie Dsouza said ldquoAs soon as my head coach brought this to my notice I suspended coaching for a week Hopefully the authorities will act on a war footing I have also written to the Mumbai School Sports Association requesting that school tournaments be postponed but we have not received any responserdquoVILE PARLEAQI 163 at 9 pm on December 5Past 10 days Nine days of poor to very poor air quality between 116 and 180 and 1 moderate dayPeriod November 4 to December 4 recorded 24 days of poor to very poor air qualityUnclersquos Kitchen United Sports Academy UKUSA head coach Reuben DrsquoSouza said ldquoIn the past few days we have observed that perfectly healthy and active children who would come for training daily have started feeling heaviness while breathing We have also seen fewer kids attending or they come only twice a weekrdquoSenior coach Prince Anand Raj added ldquoWe had our under14 matches scheduled in the last week of November But the children were struggling to breathe Out of 22 only 2 or 3 come daily and the rest come once or twice a week We had to cancel tournaments and request that coaching be suspended for a few daysrdquoKabaddi coach Geeta ZagadeldquoI have been coaching female kabaddi players here for at least a decade Never have I seen so many players continuously sick or absent Most of them are at home including my daughter who sometimes does not feel like going because of the dust and pollutionrdquoThirteenyearold Mudra Zagade said ldquoNowadays I end up playing with my ball or doing dance practice at home instead of going for kabaddi It feels very heavy while breathing and I keep coughing during practice on the groundrdquoMALADAQI 157 at 9 pm on December 5Past 10 days Nine days of poor to very poor air quality between 128 and 177 and one hazardous day at 308Period November 4 to December 4Aditya Gandhekar father of Devansh said ldquoMy son has been practising tennis at Shivaji Park Gymkhana since he was five For the first time he said he cannot run fast or concentrate because he cannot breathe properly and often sneezes on the court He practices shots at home on the balcony but does not like it He keeps requesting to go to the park We fear he may fall sick and miss school if he practices in such polluted conditionsrdquoDADARAQI 172 at 9 pm on December 5Past 10 days Eight days of poor to very poor air quality and two severe daysDoctors speakDr Riddhi Nikam said ldquoWhen a child who has trained rigorously since toddlerhood suddenly stops the body reacts negatively Muscles get sore lethargy sets in and children can gain weight quicklyrdquoDr Rashmi Joshi Shetty said ldquoWhen we do an activity we enjoy regularly happiness hormones are released When such activities stop abruptly children feel lethargic and lose concentration Parents must take extra effort to keep them active because otherwise they quickly turn to screens a habit thatrsquos difficult to reverserdquo