Asian Games postponed: Indian hockey players disappointed

The new dates shall be announced as soon as the COVID-19 situation in China can be predicted or once it gets better. The news hit the athletes who were about to participate in the tournament with great disappointment. Indian hockey players respond to the announcement of the indefinite postponement of the Asian Games. 

When asked about the team's response to the recent postponement, the goalkeeper of the Indian Hockey team, PR Sreejesh, when asked about the team's current delay, told the media that the group, though disappointed, did not suffer a significant setback. The team was expecting this postponement because the COVID-19 situation was getting worse in China. Sreejesh believes that despite the disappointment, the team is looking forward to the positive sides of the delay. It will give the team more time to prepare and may also bring good luck, as it did during the Tokyo Games when the Indian Hockey team won a Bronze for the first time in 41 years. 

"Yes, it's a disappointment but somewhere down the line, we were expecting it considering the situation in China. But we want to look at it from a positive point of view because the postponement means we will get more time to prepare for the Asian Games," said Sreejesh. 

Given the Indian hockey team's victory in the postponed Olympic games, Sreejesh believes that the team knows what it takes to maintain the form in a postponed game. Many teams may lose their motivation or stamina given the postponement, but the Indian team seems confident that this won't be the case with them. They want to stay optimistic about the delay and use it to their advantage rather than be heartbroken. 

Given the news of the postponement of the Asian Games, India might be able to send their senior men's and women's teams for the commonwealth games as well. Earlier the country had decided to send their reserve teams for the commonwealth games because the two tournaments were scheduled pretty close. This news may have come as an opportunity for India to grab trophies at both the tournaments, now that they'll be held at a substantial gap. However, the officials haven't confirmed anything yet. They believe that the new dates of the Asian Games will decide whether senior players will be included in the CWG team or not.