‘Never felt so stressed, COVID-19 phase a new experience,’ says Hockey striker Mandeep Singh after recovery


‘Never felt so stressed, COVID-19 phase a new experience,’ says Hockey striker Mandeep Singh after recovery
Mandeep Singh

India hockey player Manpreet Singh has gone through many ups and down on the field, but testing positive for Coronavirus seems to have hit the player hard.

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Singh was one of the six players who had test positive for the Coronavirus last month. Although, the 25-year-old striker has now fully recovered and started to train with the national side.

“I think we had read and heard so much about the pandemic being a deadly disease, the first few days were stressful and anxious after testing positive for the virus.

“Although I have been in some of the most difficult match-situations as a professional hockey player, I had never felt this stressed,” a Hockey India press release stated Singh as saying.

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“I was never taken away in an ambulance, never been seriously injured either. So, this phase was a new experience for me. After recovering, they (Hockey India) even gave us an option to return home to take a break if we felt like it but we wanted to stay back and rejoin the rest of the group,” he added.

Feel relieved to be recovered: Mandeep

Hockey India team

The striker from Ludhiana is relieved after recovering from Coronavirus and praised the Indian team’s strength and conditioning coach Robin Arkel for helping players out. Their coach, Graham Reid, is also monitoring the players after every session.

“We have a very good trainer in Robin Arkel and he knows exactly how much to push us. We are taking only 50-60% of the regular workload at the moment and have just one session per day.

“Chief coach Graham Reid is also constantly monitoring how we feel during a session. It feels good to be back with the rest of the group and I feel relieved to be fine and recovered fully,” he said.

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FIH Hockey Pro League starts after a break of six months on Tuesday.

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