(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar's Ahmed al-Meghessib has played football both on the field and on the screen. The 21-year-old has played for Al Duhail and Umm Salal in the QNB Stars League, while being on the PSG Esports team for FIFA.
He has become one of the key players in Qatar and was able to qualify for the FIWC (FIFA Interactive World Cup) after his first Regional Qualifier.
While his on-field action has understandably come to a halt, after the Qatar Olympic Committee and consequently the Qatar Football Association extended the suspension on sporting activities, al-Meghessib has been using his time at home spending quality time with his family, training as much as possible at home to stay fit, and of course, play more video games.
Excerpts:
People have been advised to remain at home (in the fight against
coronavirus). Your thoughts?
I am not complaining about staying indoors for our own safety and security. In fact, I'm looking at this period as a positive thing that is allowing me to think about new stuff to do, such as reading books and enhancing my gaming skills by learning new showboating skills in FIFA. We could always use free time to our benefits.
I think it's important that people stick together as one and listen to the government's advice and recommendations to stay home and help avoid spreading the virus.
Do you think the change in daily habits due to coronavirus will change people's behaviour in a positive way even after the threat is brought under control?
It depends on the person. At such times, a person can change his lifestyle, getting more time with the family. This may change his idea on how important it is to actually spend time with your family and loved ones. It will also open our eyes to how blessed we are with the lives we have, looking back at our routine pre-Covid-19 outbreak.
Describe your day in self-isolation. What's your daily routine, how are you spending this time at home to stay positive?
At first, it wasn't easy for me to adapt to this change in daily routine. As a professional football player also, I have daily football trainings which require me to wake up early every day. Now it's a bit more relaxed schedule, I get the chance to rest my body more with more sleep. Yet this doesn't mean we stop training, never. I'm finding alternatives that suit the current situation, such as opting for a daily run in the neighbourhood or at any closed stadium to maintain my fitness level. I also do upper body workout at home. But I keep enough time during the day and night for spending time with my family and gaming.
Esports is becoming more
popular as people stay at home to curb the Covid-19 spread. What are your thoughts on the popularity of esports?
Being a discipline that can be practised indoors,e is getting more attention. Number of viewers on live streaming platforms is increasing which is a good sign. Many gamers are having more time to play and showcase their skills and share with others, meaning that many people will improve their gaming level. Gamers are benefiting from this time, whether gaming casually with a friend online or esports athletes playing pro to train for their next online tournament. On a positive note, families are more accepting to the fact that their kids are playing for hours on their consoles while staying home and enjoying their time.
Please share with us your gaming routine during these times and how did it change?
My gaming routine at the moment is different than the usual as I am spending more time to play other games beside FIFA which is my professional esport game. Other games I'm enjoying now are first-person shooters such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. We play this game online, get into a group of 5 friends, we play together for hours, joke, have fun by beating other teams.
What other activities are you
engaged in at home?
Well I'm starting to create more videos as snippets from the FIFA games I play. I focus on sharing scoring some nice goals that are unique to be scored and uploading them onto my social media platforms as gaming insights.
As a football player, athletes need competition and tournaments to stay in top form. What will you do
to stay in good form without
competition?
As I mentioned earlier, I keep my fitness level by having outdoor runs sometimes, doing workouts such as core, abs, pushups in many different ways.
What is your advice to residents living in Qatar on how to maintain fitness drills at home? Can you share some tips on staying fit?
My advice is to watch videos of home training and do them at home with their family. It not only helps maintain fitness levels and enhance their well-being, but also goes for an enjoyable time as a family activity, makes the workout more fun. Staying fit definitely is a way to avoid catching the virus.
Is the current period affecting athletes more or other people and how?
Actually, it affects both. Yet athletes have an issue that there season is off and they have different type of training now to opt for at home individually or online with their fitness coaches. Also the uncertainty and not knowing how the federations will move forward with planned tournaments and what decisions will be taken due to current situations.
I hope that in the near future the virus will be controlled and everything goes back to normal. And the world learns about this time to avoid any future issues happening in the same way.
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