India Hockey Captain Manpreet Singh, Four Other Test Positive For COVID-19

Bengaluru: The Indian Men’s Hockey Team captain Manpreet Singh and four other players have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been hospitalised.

Besides Manpreet, defender Surender Kumar, Jaskaran Singh, drag-flicker Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak have also tested positive for the dreaded Novel Coronavirus.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed deep concern and prayed for the speedy recovery of the five hockey players infected by COVID-19.

Deeply concerned to know that five of @TheHockeyIndia players including captain @manpreetpawar07 are hospitalised after being tested positive for #COVID19. Wishing them quick recovery and praying for their good health.

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 7, 2020

The players tested positive after returning to the national hockey camp at the SAI South Centre in Bengaluru following a month-long break.

The national players were earlier stranded at the centre for over two months (till June) when a national lockdown was imposed to contain the virus.

SAI has made it mandatory for all athletes , who reported back to the camp to take a rapid COVID-19 test upon arrival.

According to the SAI, all the players who have tested positive were part of a 10-member group who have travelled together and there are chances of more positve results come out.

The SAI further said that all the five players initially tested negative in the rapid test. But when Manpreet and Surender began to show some COVID-19 symptoms, they along with 10 other players, who had travelled together, were made to undergo the Quantitative RT-PCR test on Thursday.