Kalinga Stadium in bhubaneswar opened its gates for elite athletes to train for Olympics

Bhubaneswar: After Kalinga Stadium in Odisha capital opened its gates for elite athletes to train for Olympics, the cadets from the Hockey High-Performance Centre, the Nava Tata Hockey Academy Odisha, have resumed outdoor training at the stadium following the Standard Operating Procedures as laid down by the State and COVID-19 international guidelines for players laid down by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Led by Head Coach, P. Laxminarayan, a team of 23 has been undergoing complete physical assessment and lab tests, performance management and analysis at Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Centre.

Speaking about this transition from pre to post COVID environment, Rajiv Seth, Project Director, NTHA, Odisha, shared, “Post the forced lockdown across the country, the players are excited to resume their sport. We ensure athletes strictly follow social distancing while interacting with fellow sportspersons, trainers and support staff, wear masks (when not training) wash hands and maintain personal hygiene.

Their health is closely monitored for any flu-like symptoms. Thermal screening and sanitization of turf, prior to every session is undertaken. We have conducted a session to create awareness on the pandemic risk and COVID-19 local transmissions. Online coaching has also been adopted. Hockey being a contact sport, we have advised them against handshakes, hugging and hi-fives.”