Indian hockey team's national camp will conclude one week earlier on 12 December, says SAI

Bengaluru: The Indian hockey team’s ongoing national camp, which is currently underway at the SAI centre, will conclude a week earlier on 12 December on the recommendation of chief coach Graham Reid. The camp, which has been going on for four months, was earlier scheduled to conclude on 18 December. The players will reassemble for camp again on 5 January after a three-week break. “A comprehensive strength and conditioning program will be given to the athletes by the chief coach and scientific advisor (Robin Arkell) of the men’s senior team to complete during the break,” the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a statement. The Indian men’s hockey team has been training at the SAI Bengaluru Centre since August this year, as sports began to resume in a phased manner following the withdrawal of the nationwide lockdown imposed in March to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. But the camp ran into rough weather in August this year after half a dozen players tested positive for coronavirus upon their return after a month-long break. The six men’s team players — skipper Manpreet Singh, striker Mandeep Singh, defenders Surender Kumar, Jaskaran Singh, drag-flicker Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak — tested positive after reaching Bengaluru for the national camp, scheduled to re-start on 20 August.