Varun Kumar gaining rhythm after recovering from COVID-19

The 25-year-old is happy that all six players who had tested positive are now fully recovered.

Indian defender and drag-flicker Varun Kumar has fully recovered from Covid-19 and is currently working hard to regain his rhythm after a long break.

"As sportsmen, you face a lot of different challenges in your career - there are ups and downs - frustration when you can't score, disappointment of defeats and the joys of winning - but this feeling of having tested positive for Covid-19 was unlike any other. I felt like I had a moral responsibility towards everyone around me, to ensure I don't end up passing it to someone else. And I am really happy that all six of us could recover well," expressed Varun Kumar who comes from Mithapur, Punjab.

The drag-flicker who was part of the FIH Junior World Cup winning team in 2016 said that following quarantine protocols when players arrived in SAI, Bengaluru for the national camp in August helped to contain the spread of the virus.

Varun Kumar said, "Hockey India and SAI have both ensured that all protocols and guidelines have been followed, and provided us with the best of facilities to tackle this challenge. It was due to their efforts that we managed to survive this unusual storm, and the care we received from all quarters meant that we could eliminate the virus without causing any damage to anyone."

He further stated that the players are properly following the instructions of the team's chief coach Graham Reid and scientific advisor Robin Arkell. The defender said, "Now it is all about making sure we are doing what the chief coach and our scientific advisor have asked us to do. We are on the correct path, and having resumed sports activities, I feel like I am regaining my rhythm. There is no better feeling than playing hockey and having been away from it, you get a sense of what you've missed out on as well."

A big fan of football great Cristiano Ronaldo, Varun Kumar wished the ace Portuguese player a speedy recovery. He said, "A lot of people around the world, including top-level athletes have contacted the virus, and last night I heard one of the fittest people in the world Cristiano Ronaldo also tested positive. I hope he recovers soon and returns to action."

He added that it is everyone’s moral responsibility to follow all the government norms. "I feel it's a collective responsibility we all have. Everyone at home, and those who are forced to venture outside, should all take precautions and not take it lightly," he concluded.