New Delhi, Sep 15 (TIWN) Former captain and current assistant coach of the Indian men's football team Venkatesh Shanmugam has lauded the "contribution of sports science in helping current players improve their knowledge".

Shanmugam, currently employed as the Assistant Coach of the Indian National Team, lamented the lack of proper grooming of players off the field during the early days of his career. "There was no sports science back then which is why we weren't so strict with our diet. We only got physios and doctors after 2000, and then began to learn what we need to do to improve our game," the football-federation">All India Football Federation's (AIFF) official website quoted Shanmugam as saying.