Badminton ace PV Sindhu launches India’s first Online Physical Educational curriculum ‘Suchitra FitKid’

Hyderabad, July 23^rd, 2020: Suchitra Academy, launched a scientifically designed comprehensive and first of its kind online Physical Education curriculum in India, the SUCHITRA FITKID, on Thursday at the Suchitra Academy. The unique Online curriculum was formally unveiled by the World Badminton Champion Ms PV Sindhu. Mr Praveen Raju, Chief Mentor; Ms Deepa Kapoor, Principal and Ms Trisha Chakraborty, Vice-Principal, Suchitra Academy; PV Sindhu's personal trainer and the author of the Suchitra FitKid, Mr Srikanth Varma, along with the physical instructors of the school were present on the occasion. Later Ms Sindhu participated in a live session of fitness.

The online fitness program Suchitra FitKid, is designed to address the fitness needs of students from Grade I to XII. The program is integrated into the school curriculum and brings back the fun and fitness elements missing otherwise in the current monotonous online education. The initiative is unique as it blends physical fitness with a built in assessment of specific goals planned at each level. Above all it is compliant with CBSE norms, making it a result oriented and success measured programme.  

Ms PV Sindhu speaking at the launch said, a healthy life is everyone’s dream as it is a great source of happiness, it’s a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing. The Covid 19 has created a global health crisis in our times and we are facing the greatest challenge ever. The cities are deserted as people stay indoors; education has been impacted the most along with all other aspects of our lives and brought physical activity to a standstill. As we practice social distancing to curb spread of corona virus, continuing to exercise and staying fit is a prime necissity. I was truly excited when I first heard from Mr Pravin Raju about the noble idea of specific fitness curriculum to beat the current restrictions and children doing full body workouts using body weight and easily available items. There wouldn’t have been anyone better to design an apt program than the truly world-class trainers like Mr Srikanth Varma of Suchitra Badminton Academy. The curriculum is a right blend of physical exercises and yoga asanas and children would love it the most. I have been coming to Suchitra Academy for my fitness and training and I owe a lot for my vastly improved fitness in the recent years to Suchitra Academy. Yes, it’s been a second home to me and completely agree it helped in many ways and I am really thankful to Suchitra Academy. Children are being trained to be fit through the Suchitra FitKid program, once the pandemic gets over, I am sure you will also be eager to get back to Suchitra Academy fitness centre. Fitness and physical activity are important to maintain a strong immune system, Doctors says people with strong natural defence system stand a better chance of developing only mild symptoms if they happen to contract the virus and the body’s own defence system can defeat the virus. I congratulate Suchitra Academy for launching this world class fitness program and also happy that the academy wants to extend this curriculum to Government Schools of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to benefit the students of Government Schools, I appreciate them for this noble and kind gesture to these impoverished kids. I want everyone to do regular exercise to stay fit and healthy.                

Speaking on the occasion Mr Praveen Raju said, the Covid 19 pandemic has thrown the world into an unprecedented crisis, the very next day of the announcement of lockdown our team at Suchitra Academy was able to launch the online classes. Online education has thrown up many challenges, one of them being physical well-being to be taken care off. There are several issues cropping up such as depression, anxiety and other mental health problems besides obesity and lack of physical activities among children. There is an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence on the positive effect of sport and physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. There is a clear consensus for doing some form of exercise for keeping fit and to boost our mental and physical health. Now is the ideal time to start a new activity, exercise is known to release chemicals in our brain which can enhance our mood, it can also lead to better sleep, relives stress and anxiety, it can lower risk of depression, obesity and lifestyle diseases and the most important aspect during these difficult times is, it improves immune system. During lockdown we started online fitness and yoga classes for regular fitness enthusiasts, school children and elite athletes like PV Sindhu. That’s when we that why not marry the best practices into a fitness curriculum, that was the genesis of Suchitra FitKid, I happened to discuss this with Ms Sindhu and she was very excited and thought it to be a necessity in the current circumstances. Mr Srikanth Verma her personal trainer had taken the initiative to design it and had sought Ms Sindhu’s guidance. Our objective was to get the mind, body and soul together, a one of its kind full body workout curriculum with the things available at home, aiding children to do the workouts within the confines of their homes and maintain their health, fitness and well-being. We would like to take this opportunity to make this program available to students from Government Schools in both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for their wellbeing and fitness.      

Physical fitness gains paramount importance especially in these unprecedented times of movement restrictions. Online education is effectively addressing the academic needs of students, but the daily dose of physical activity, which is an indispensable part of the growing age, has been grossly neglected. Suchitra FitKid initiative rolled out by Suchitra Academy, another first in a series of virtual experiences introduced by the school, will bridge and address the concern, says Mr Srikanth Varma, PV Sindhu’s personal trainer.  

The Suchitra FitKid curriculum is framed to suit the needs of different growing age groups. The regimen incorporates key workouts to finetune mind locomotor skills, and includes strength training, balance, flexibility and endurance. The exercise regime is combined with yoga specific to each age group. The program incorporates four classes for students from Grade IV onwards and two classes for Grades I to III, of physical education every week. Mr Venkateshwar Rao, Sports Director, Suchitra Academy, with a rich experience of over twenty five years in the domain, along with his team of five instructors will conduct the program at different levels.

The curriculum will be shared with schools in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, so that the far reaching effects of a physical education curriculum serving the mind, body and spirit reaches beyond Suchitra Academy benefitting countless children in the two states.