Report | Members of junior hockey team down with dengue, huge setback in World Cup preparations

10/19/2021

According to a report in The Indian Express, a number of players from the junior hockey team have tested positive for dengue, at SAI Bengaluru. This comes as a setback to the team, as the players are currently undergoing a preparation camp for the upcoming Junior Hockey World Cup.

The Hockey Junior World Cup is slated to begin next month in Odisha, but India's preparations have hit a massive roadblock, after several players tested positive for dengue at the national camp in Bengaluru, according to a report in The Indian Express.

The report further stated that 50-odd trainees across disciplines were down with high fever, and four among those happen to be from the junior hockey team.

“Because of heavy rainfall here, we have had around 40-50 trainees who have reported fever and weakness in the last two weeks. Out of them, five tested positive for dengue. They are all doing well now and we are taking all preventive measures, including fumigation,” Ritu Pathik, SAI's Bengaluru head, told The Indian Express.

The team was supposed to leave for South Africa for an exposure trip, which too is postponed for now.

Meanwhile, the junior team is also put under the aegis of Graham Reid, who is in charge of the senior team, along with BJ Kariappa.