Abu Dhabi: Harun Rashied grew up in the northern Indian hill station of Nainital. In the town bordering the Himalayas, sports is a big deal and Rashied himself passionately played cricket, football and basketball in his youth. It was no surprise, therefore, when he pursued a degree in Physical Education, despite already having a Master’s degree in Commerce. And when the COVID-19 pandemic brought all school sporting activities to a grinding halt, Rashied, 40, now the head of Physical Education (PE) at Islamiya English School in Abu Dhabi, was determined to continue promoting fitness. “Students look forward to the sports competitions we organise, and although they are not graded on their PE lessons, they strive to keep fit so they can go on to win the competitions. When these competitions were suspended, I knew I had to find a way to keep the children motivated, especially as they needed an outlet while navigating their way through a pandemic,” Rashied told Gulf News. So he went about passionately organising what was possibly the UAE’s first online push-up contest. Meant for boys aged under 18 years, the qualifying round called upon participants to submit a 45-second video of themselves completing 40 push-ups in the correct form.