New Delhi

While the women’s group has been at SAI since February for the national coaching camp, the men’s unit arrived in Bengaluru in the first week of March after notable performances against Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands in the FIH Hockey Pro League. It has been decided that the athletes will be recalled on July 19 to resume activities as part of their preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

Having spent the nationwide lockdown at the SAI Centre, the athletes had begun basic activities on June 10. However, in consultation with the teams’ chief coaches Graham Reid and Sjoerd Marijne, it was unanimously decided that the players be allowed to take a break of four weeks.

HI president Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad said: “Having consulted with the chief coaches of both the teams, HI decided that it was important to give the players a much-needed break. These have been challenging times for everyone and I must credit the teams’ coaching staff, who took care of the players’ physical and mental well-being during the nationwide lockdown.”

Ahmad further said that during this break, the players have been advised to follow all the guidelines provided by the government. “The players have been specifically briefed that they need to adhere to the government guidelines during the break. They should also continue to follow social distancing. We are very proud of how our players have handled this situation over the last three-four months and have stayed strong as a unit. “It is important they continue to act responsibly during this break. We believe this time off will help players return to Bengaluru feeling fresh mentally and physically in order to resume preparations for the Olympic Games,” said Ahmad.

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