Bengaluru: Indian men's hockey team forward SV Sunil believes the current lockdown period, which has been extended till May 3 due to coronavirus pandemic, will further help his side in improving as a collective unit.
"We were all expecting the lock-down period to be extended, and it is justified given the extent of the damage that the pandemic has been causing not just in India, but around the world," said Sunil.
"We have been staying here at the SAI Centre Bengaluru for the past month and a half, and I think spending more time with our teammates and coaching staff has really brought the group together.
"We have also been working on analysing our performances from the past couple of seasons, and we have been doing a lot of self-analysis as well, which I'm sure will help us in improving a lot before we set foot on the pitch again," he added.
Reacting to the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021, Sunil said: "We have spent these four years building up to the Olympics, and working hard to peak at that time, but obviously now we all have to make adjustments, for which we are ready."
"There is still a long way to go now, which means that we all have a lot of time to prepare for it, and to improve with every challenge that we take on from herein.
"It has been a few days since I've made that run on the flanks and put a ball into the striking circle, so I really hope that things can go back to normal very quickly for everyone to do what they love doing, which includes me stepping foot on the pitch again soon," he added.
Sunil, whose wife Nisha and their one-year old daughter Shanvita, are put up just 20kms from the SAI Centre, desires of being with his family but also understands that it is the right decision to not wander outside given the situation.
"Most of the players here in camp would have loved to be with their families, and even though my family doesn't stay very far from here, my wife and I decided that it was in the best interest of our family that we stay put where we are, and follow the guidelines strictly. I do miss my wife and daughter, but these are trying circumstances and we just have to take the positives out of it, and continue adjusting to it," he said.
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