Bangalore: Seven members of the Indian women’s hockey team and two support staff tested positive Monday for COVID-19. Among them is the captain of the team Rani Rampal. This sudden development has affected the hockey team’s preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. The training camp was scheduled to begin at the SAI campus here. All the players and support staff are asymptomatic. They have been placed under observation at the SAI centre.
“They were tested April 24, post quarantine after their return from their respective home towns to their training base at SAI here. They were following protocol as laid down by SAI,” a statement said.
Other than Rampal, the players who have tested positive are Savita Punia, Sharmila Devi, Rajani, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur and Sushila. The two support staff members who have tested positive are video analyst Amrutaprakash and scientific advisor Wayne Lombard.
The players of the women’s hockey team had returned here Sunday. They were scheduled to start their training for the Tokyo Olympics after following quarantine protocol for 10 days. Accordingly the players were kept in isolation at the SAI centre here.
In January, the team toured Argentina where they played seven matches failing to win a single one. They drew two matches against the host country’s junior team, lost the next three games against the Argentina B side and then suffered defeats in the two games against World No.2 senior team. In the tour of Germany in February-March, the Indian women’s team lost all its four matches against the World No.3 home side.
