Boosting its efforts to address athletes' fitness concerns, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Tuesday introduced the hypoxic chamber at the Injury and Rehabilitation Centre of Northern Regional Centre, Sonepat.
This is the first of a kind in the northern region and fourth overall in India after the Army Sports Institute in Pune and in the sport departments of Kerala and Maharashtra.
Hypoxic chamber creates an environment of high altitude which helps elite athletes in fitness and fast recovery and rehabilitation. It reduces the amount of oxygen in the air which forces cardio-respiratory systems to work even harder to deliver sufficient oxygen to the working muscles which enhances performance of the athlete significantly.
Inaugurating the chamber, SAI director general Injeti Srinivas dedicated it to all athletes of the centre.
"It will open a new chapter in the training system and I am sure with the improved system of training athletes will be benefited during international competitions" he said.
Olympic bronze medallist grappler Yogeshwar Dutt, who was present on the occasion said: "It will surely reduce the foreign dependency for recovery and rehabilitation training".
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--IANS
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