Starlets ace Shikangwa struggling to beat lockdown blues

Harambee Starlets teenager Jentrix Shikangwa has revealed that life under lock-down has turned out to be the ‘the most difficult thing’ she could have ever imagined as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal life.

Shikangwa says she feels ‘locked’ at her home in Kakamega, unable to access any training facility after the Government their closure two months ago to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The 18-year-old, who placed her name among Kenya’s hottest sporting prospects when she topped the scoring charts at the 2019 Cecafa Women Championship in Tanzania, says this period has presented plenty of challenges to her and many athletes who must now rely on home workouts.

”I have not been training. Our security officers do not want to see people train and it’s been difficult for me because I’m not used to this life. When they see you train in any field they arrest you,” she told Citizen Digital.

Shikangwa feels the postponement of competitions, the cancellation of training and, in many instances, the isolation of players will come at a psychological cost and has urged the government to revise its decision to lock athletes out of training camps.

“It’s a plea to the government and especially from where I reside right now, that they allow us have individual trainings because doing it at home is not comfortable to some of us. I normally train at a place called Shipalo but I cannot access it again,” she said.

How her Starlets teammates will manage to stay in shape both mentally and physically is a question that now bothers the teen.

Hundreds of footballers, from the highest levels to the lower leagues, remain on the lockdown while Coronavirus spreads across the country fast and quick, with 33 counties already confirmed the virus to have spread.

Shikangwa fears players will return considerably less fir and far more prone to injury.” I hope it will end soon[Pandemic]. You can’t imagine the only way to keep myself fit right now is to run for a few kilometers every morning and that is all.”

On the other hand, Shikangwa reiterated that she had been informed to receive a portion of the stimulus package that was disbursed by the Sports Ministry though CS Amina Mohammed meant for cushioning sportsmen and women amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

” We were informed and told we are going to receive some amount though we have not yet received.” she noted.

Shikangwa rose to Harambee Starlets ranks in 2017 when she was named in the Kenya Under-20 squad for 2018 World Cup qualifiers.