COVID-19 lockdown: Golfer Rashid turns to martial arts to stay fit, kill boredom

A front-runner to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games, two-time Asian Tour winner Rashid Khan has taken to martial arts to keep himself fit and fight boredom during the coronavirus-forced lockdown.

Rashid is ranked inside top 60 in the Olympic Golf Qualification Rankings -- the cut-off for Olympics -- but with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down all events globally, including India, he too has been confined to home.

Rashid is nonetheless putting in the hard yards, albeit, in a new sport -- martial arts.

"I have started practising martial arts at home during this break. I am following Billy Blanks' (American martial artist) videos in Youtube. This is what I can do right now, because I don't have gym at home. It is helping me a lot to keep myself fit," said the 29-year-old told PTI.

"I do it once a day in the evening. In martial arts, you are doing a lot of things like planks, doing weight training and you have to be quick, so it is interesting. I wanted to do something different so that I don't get bored.

"I also spend a lot of time with my nephew, who is 15 months old. Besides, I watch shows on netflix and amazon, my favourite is the Big Bang Theory," he added.

But how is he sharpening his golfing skills amid this lockdown?
"I am okay since I am a feel player. I have this feeling when I know what I need to do to get back to best once there is resumption. Right now I am just chilling at home."