The Physio First team of physiotherapist
Photo Credits: Beckham Veron Xavier
Margao
Physiotherapist Verna D’Silva always wanted to give back to Goa, in return for the several good things he had gained while growing up in the state. Having spent time working in Mumbai, studying in Mangalore and in Australia, the urge to return to the roots and do something worthwhile and have a significant impact on the Goan sporting community has always been on her mind.
Finally, Verna had seen enough of Mumbai and it was time to say goodbye as she packed her bags and returned to her sweet home Goa.
Verna brings a unique Goan element to the ongoing multi discipline sports event National Games. In the midst of several outstation Public Relations and Event Managements companies, Physio First is a Made in Goa product which is standing out on the field of play through the 70 physios working overtime to keep the athletes fit and ready for sporting action.
“This journey was always there. Deep down in my heart. I wanted to do something in Goa. So when I moved from Bombay to Goa. Being a Goan, I always wanted to excel in my field and being very passionate about what I do, I just wanted to make a mark and lead a team of 70 physios all over the nation, it feels great and I really feel proud and proud of my team.”
Asked why she took to physiotherapy and associated herself with sports the girl who grew up in Margao and traces her roots to Velim and Assolna village of Salcete taluka said: “I always wanted to do sports and physiotherapy, I grew up watching football, watching the games and being involved in the games. Also, I used to play.”
“I used to play basketball and that was in school, actually my mum never allowed me to continue. I studied at Fatima Convent, Margao. I did science and then I moved out of Goa for further studies,” said Verna, who played basketball at the school level and it was where the fire to do something on the sporting front took birth.
Sourcing the physios at short notice from Goa was a challenge for Verna.
“It was very difficult to find 70 sports physios in Goa. So I made it a point to broaden my networking outside Goa and I got 20 sports physios from Goa and the remaining from Belgaum and from Mumbai and Karnataka too. So it's like unity in diversity,” she said about the physios working at the different venues where the Games are held.
Each of the venues have four physios at a given point of time and they are on the hand on the field of play and also at their designated venue tents.
Verna as Director of the company is on the move overseeing all the arrangements and the logistics are in place, being a woman brings a host of challenges and along with a pre conceived set of mind, all which she has dispelled over the last few years she has been in the field.
“Well it's been a struggle. Honestly speaking, it's been a struggle because it was being a physio and being a woman it was very tough to get into the field and everyone looked down upon you because, you know, they were like, ‘we want male physios’ and I got a chance to be in the All India Football Federation and now I train physios and send them to the AIFF. But before it was very tough, but I made sure I made my mark,” added Verna, who has three clinics in Goa, one in Dona Paula and the other one at a star hotel besides one in Verna village.
With the multiple discipline Games comes a set of different injuries and set of challenges for the physios and Verna has made sure that all the field personnel are updated and geared up to face the situations at the ground level.
“It's been a challenge though because there have been different sports, different events across Goa and Delhi too. And each sport has various rules to follow. So we abide. So I made sure of each one's posting wherever they were posted. Then they read about the game. Then we had rigorous training for my physios in all the sports so that, you know, the common entities dealing with each sport were taught to them. And then we actually acted out different injuries at that time of training and I made sure they were well trained at that time. And so right now they're on the field doing a fabulous job,” said Verna, who has one sister settled in the United Kingdom while her brother is based in Goa.
