Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday inaugurated a sports medicine complex, Sri Ramachandra Arthroscopy and Sports Sciences Centre (SRASSC), at Sri Ramachandra University through videoconferencing.
Spread over 1.6 lakh square feet of area, the centre has been established at a cost of Rs. 45 crore in collaboration with University of Cape Town, South Africa.
The complex houses a fitness centre with running track, indoor swimming pool, cardio training, weight training, high performance centre, multi-sports hall, biomechanics analysis laboratory, Isokinetic machine for muscular strength testing and training, exercise physiology laboratory, facilities for sports physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and yoga, an aerobic hall and a sports cafeteria.
“The centre will assess fitness of sportspersons, help in prevention and treatment of injuries. By analysing a person’s movements, we can take measures to enhance his/her performance,” S. Arumugam, head of SRASSC, said.
He said the multi-sports hall, which has 20 cameras, can simultaneously assess batting and bowling actions, while centres at Australia and England have facilities to assess only bowling actions. “We can also take up correction measures for wrong/illegal actions, such as in bowling. Players need not go to Australia or England for this purpose,” he added.
Players can attend a conditioning camp here before going for events. The Isokinetic lab can also assess a player’s strength after an injury or surgery, he said.
A team of experts from the two universities, including a sports nutritionist, biokineticist, sports physician, bio-mechanist and sports psychologist, has developed protocols for the facility. Dr. Arumugam said the university has been offering B.Sc. Exercise and Sports Science and MD Sports Medicine in collaboration with University of Cape Town from last year.
V.R. Venkataachalam, chancellor, Sri Ramachandra University, Samyuktha Venkataachalam, trustee, Sri Ramachandra Educational and Health Trust, J.S.N. Murthy, vice- chancellor, S.P. Thyagarajan, dean research, K.V. Somasundaram, dean of faculties and T. Bhaskar Raj, associate professor, Radiology were present.