Hockey players resume sports activities in Assam, Manipur

Guwahati, Oct. 27 (IANS): Hockey players in Assam and Manipur have resumed sports activities in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) guidelines amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Assam, approximately 100 players have resumed limited sports activities. The players, who belong to the U-16 and U-19 age group, are focussing on basic drills and are slowly and steadily finding their feet back in the game, as per a Hockey India media release.

The players and the coaches of the state member unit are currently building towards their next domestic tournament – a test event in the first week of November.

“We are delighted that our hockey players have resumed sports activities. Staying away from the pitch for a long time is difficult for any sportsperson and therefore we are ecstatic that we have found a way to resume sports activities by following the SOP and guidelines provided to us by Hockey India,” Tapan Kumar Das, General Secretary Assam Hockey said.

“We have to ensure that we don’t push our players too hard. They have to move forward steadily,” he added.

In Manipur, around 150 players, who belong to the U-18 and U-20 categories, have resumed sports activities. The state is planning to conduct 21-days of coaching sessions at various registered districts of Manipur for the seamless resumption of sports activities across the state.

Basudev Singh, President Manipur Hockey, said, “We are extremely happy that sports activities have resumed in our state. We have been prepared for the restart of the sports activities for many months and therefore we are delighted that the players from Manipur have got a chance to make their way back to the field. We hope that the players get back to their full form as soon as possible.”

The state member units got a general idea about the key aspects to keep in mind while resuming sports activities during an interactive session with chief coaches of the national teams and experienced national players; PR Sreejesh and Savita in September.

The chief coaches and players spoke about their first-hand experience of how the national camp coaches and players are following the set protocol at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru since restarting sports activities on August 19.