‘Preparing for my MA exams’ - Rani Rampal gives a peek of life inside SAI camp in Bengaluru amid lockdown

The India hockey men’s and women’s team were at SAI campus in Bengaluru for preparation for upcoming Pro League matches, friendly games and Tokyo Olympics, when coronavirus outbreak in India brought the nation to a standstill. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown last week, the players still remained at the camp, despite Tokyo Olympics getting postponed to 2021 last week.

India women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal spoke to Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat and gave a peek inside the life at the camp amid the lockdown:

“I have been reading and preparing for my MA exams. I haven’t really found time to pursue any other hobbies of mine since I am focusing on studying for my exams.

“We are also working on our fitness, mostly indoors within our rooms, or inside our hostel. We have been given a set of body-weight exercises to do every day and we need to keep a record and set our time limits. We are encouraged to push ourselves and stay focused on the task. We have to record the repetitions, timings, etc. and our team’s Scientific Advisor Wayne Lombard reviews them and sets new targets for us.

“The doctors in SAI have briefed us really well about the COVID-19 situation, and what precautions need to be taken. This has proven to be very helpful as it has made us understand properly about the infection and how we must protect ourselves.

“No one of us is allowed to leave the campus and no outsider is allowed inside SAI. Even the staff who work here are screened at the gate before they enter so in that sense, it is a very secure environment.

“Because of all the information we are getting from social media and provided to us by the SAI doctors, the younger players in the team are too well-aware of the guidelines. They understand why and what precautionary measures they need to follow to stay safe and healthy.

“Even though we are away from home, our families are not too worried about us. Because they know that we are in a secure environment with a great support system here at SAI.

“The core group of our team has spent so much time together... we are at camps almost 300 days a year. So we have grown close to each other and this is our family when we are away from home. We have each other in case we face any issues and we help each other out in difficult times.

“Also, we have our one-on-one meetings with Coach Marijne and Analytical Coach Janneke Schopmann, so in case if anything is bothering any of the players, they can always share with them and they are always there to help us.

“Last week, it was officially announced that the Tokyo Olympics will be postponed to 2021. Of course, we were all very disappointed when Coach Sjoerd Marijne broke this news to us. But we told him that we will look at the positive side and continue to build on our performance.

“With the new dates for the Olympics announced, we have a lot to look forward to and the team is motivated to improve. Since we are all together on the same campus, we get to see each other during lunch and tea time. We have a good support system and we are all in good spirits and just hoping things will get better soon so that we can get back to our usual routine.

“In the past two years, we have grown as a team and have been performing well against some of the top teams in the world. In the year to come, we will continue to focus on becoming a better side and use this time to enhance our potential.”