Bipin Dani
For some sportsmen, sex before a match is a complete no-no, but many sports stars make sure they have some good sex before a big match or a top race.
Each time there is a World Cup Match or an important sports event, the myths surrounding ‘pre-match sex’ and the ‘players’ performances’ on the pitch start making a buzz. While some coaches and clubs ban ‘pre-match sex’ for their players, there are some coaches and sportsmen, who openly swear by the power of sex before a big match – First shoot, Then score! But the million-dollar question still lingers if sex helps or hinders a player’s performance on the field. Team India’s former mental and conditioning coach, Paddy Upton, was not the only one to reveal that he asked celebrated cricket coach Gary Kirsten to allow Team India players to have sex before matches during the 2011 World Cup. In his famous book, The Barefoot Coach, Upton reveals that he had suggested to Kirsten to allow Indian players to have sex before matches to relieve stress.
Power & Performance Well, Upton and Kirsten are not alone. Now, KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar reveals that ‘sex in cricket is very normal.’ Speaking on The Ranveer Show, he says: “It’s normal for anyone to do it. It’s different for everybody. There is this constant fight and conundrum in every cricketer’s mind.” Some people will like it, some will abstain. Some cricketers do believe that their power and focus tend to improve if they don’t have sex, while others follow that and end up concluding that nothing has changed for them. So, this is a very individual thing. There is no thumb rule. The fact is, at different phases in life, different things work. No one is desperate, but sometimes there is so much pressure that you want to chill.”
Sexpert Speak Throwing some light on the issue, India’s renowned sexologist Prakash Kothari favours the idea of players having sex before a match. Speaking exclusively, Kothari says, “I know not one, but quite a few athletes who have won gold, hit centuries, or excelled at their sport, just after masturbation or satisfactory sex.”
