SONEPAT (TIP): When Cristiano Ronaldo jumped up 8 feet 7 inches to score a goal with a header against Wales in the Euro semi-final, he generated five times the power of a cheetah in full flow at take-off. In doing so, he hung in the air for an amazing 0.8 seconds. Among the tools that this uber athlete uses is a hypoxic chamber installed at his home outside Madrid.

It is the same training that India‘s star pehelwaan Yogeshwar Dutt – the most likely wrestler to win a medal at the Rio Olympics – is getting at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Sonepat. To enhance his stamina, endurance and cognitive ability, Yogeshwar is priming himself in the hypoxic chamber, installed at the centre on June 28.

At present, Yogeshwar is the only one among Rio-bound wrestlers using the chamber. The 33-year-old simulates the chamber’s height to 3,100 metres above sea level and then trains for nearly an hour.

“Inside the chamber, the amount of oxygen in the air is reduced which forces our body’s cardio-respiratory systems to work even harder to deliver sufficient oxygen to the working muscles. This enhances performance significantly,” Yogeshwar explains. “Such training helps increasing power, stamina and endurance. It also helps in quick recovery.

“The good thing is now India’s dependence on foreign countries for such training will reduce. I feel we are gradually standing on our own feet in terms of modern sports coaching systems,” he adds. Yogeshwar will compete in the 65kg freestyle category at the Rio Games and is considered to be one of the favourites to win the event. His personal coach Sanjit Malik feels Yogeshwar has a realistic chance of winning gold this time.

What is a Hypoxic chamber?

It is an airtight gym and sauna that creates a high altitude environment which helps elite athletes in fitness and fast recovery and rehabilitation. It helps efficient and effective utilization of oxygen which improvises endurance for competitive sports. A low oxygen environment brings many benefits to the human body like building stamina, endurance and cognitive ability.

Top athletes who’ve benefited

Cristiano Ronaldo Justin Gatlin Usain Bolt Tyson Gay Floyd Mayweather Manny Pacquiao

(PTI)