Q.Explain the importance of fluid intake during a competition.

Once exercise or competition has started, the goals shift from 'fuelling up' to maintaining what the body already has — water balance, body temperature, blood sugar, and delaying fatigue.

Fluids are the single most important consideration. Even slight dehydration causes mental and physical fatigue and hurts performance. Water lost through sweat must be replaced during exercise, not only afterwards: the textbook recommends roughly 150-250 ml of water every 15 minutes depending on exercise intensity and the environment, and allows commercially available sports drinks with sugar levels up to 2% during play. Carbonated, fizzy or caffeinated drinks are specifically discouraged.

During short breaks in play (tennis, boxing), carbohydrate-rich foods or fluids — banana, juices, carbohydrate drinks under 2% concentration, or plain water — help maintain blood sugar without upsetting the stomach.

For longer efforts, if exercise lasts more than 60 minutes, carbohydrate-electrolyte beverages (diluted fruit juices with 5-8% carbohydrate) are recommended; for true endurance events lasting more than two hours, carbohydrate-rich solid or liquid meals are needed during the event itself, since muscle glycogen keeps depleting the longer the event runs.

The underlying reason all of this matters is that fluid and electrolyte (sodium, potassium, chloride) loss through heavy sweating directly causes the fatigue, cramping and performance drop that a sportsperson is trying to avoid — so hydration is treated as being just as much a performance tool as training itself.