At a time when coronavirus outbreak has affected several sporting events, including the postponement of Shooting World Cup in India, coach Sjoerd Marijne spoke to reporters on the protocols being followed by the Indian Women’s hockey team while training at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bengaluru. According to a recent report from the World Health Organisation, coronavirus has spread its reach to 101 countries and regions across the world, and the global death toll has surged to 3,583. 40 cases of COVID-19 have also been reported in India.
India women’s team was supposed to travel to China but the tour was cancelled following the outbreak of the disease in Wuhan, China. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of 3rd annual Hockey India Awards function in New Delhi, Marijne said that his team has to adapt to the ongoing situation as it is not under his control.
“Yeah, we had to adjust. We had a tour of China in March, but we had to cancel it. In sport, one always has to make a lot of adjustments, and adapt to situations. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s a big worldwide problem. So, we also have to adapt, and now we probably go to the Netherlands and Germany. The tour is yet to be approved. But I am really happy with Hockey India and Sports Authority of India (SAI) working faster to have a second plan,” the Dutch said.
Marijne added that he is trying for his team to stick to the programme as much as possible. “I think that’s really good. We have to play at least six matches, we have the Asian Champions Trophy in South Korea. We have to see, I don’t know. I can’t control the situation. We keep training really hard at the camp, we are doing really good. We stick to our programme, as much as possible,” he said.
A lot of messages on social media regarding “dos and don’ts” are being disseminated on social media to protect oneself from the disease. Facing such a situation, Marijne expressed his gratitude to global sporting bodies for providing factual information to players and coaching staff.
“We are being kept informed by IOA about the virus, by IOC, and by Hockey India, about what the situation is, what the status is. We can more, or less, control the situation in the camp. But yeah, we are at a really protected area, there are not really too many problems, so we don’t have to think about it too much,” he said.
Earlier this week, five patients suspected of coronavirus were kept under observation in isolation at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases. The women’s hockey team has been practising in Bengaluru, and several protocols are being taken to ensure player’s safety.
“We are in a closed environment, no one but athletes come there. There’s only one case so far in Bengaluru. We have a protocol – washing hands, no handshakes. If someone is coughing, we would take them out. They are placed alone in the room as you don’t want to take risks. But it’s something we always did. If someone is feeling a little bit sick, we put them alone in the room, so they don’t affect someone else,” Marijne said.
The speculations are rife at the moment whether the Tokyo Olympics will take place this year. The confirmed cases in Japan of COVID-19 crossed 1,000 earlier this week, but Tokyo 2020 Olympics president Yoshiro Mori has maintained that the multi-sport event will go as planned. Marijne says that he is keeping his team ready irrespective of whether Games take place in June or not.
“We trained the girls, we only focus on what you can control. We can’t control the virus, we can’t control what’s going to happen. If the Olympics are going on or not. So, we are training really hard day-by-day and being ready,” he signed off.
