Don't swim in Indian pool!

After sweating it out under the sharp sun, one activity most players relish upon returning to their hotel is to have a relaxed swim in the pool. However, the Dutch players at the Champions Trophy here can’t afford that pleasure, thanks to their coach Max Caldas.

Fearing that the water here may be infected with bacteria, Caldas, an Argentine, instructed his players not to carry their swimming trunks as, apart from a dip of the feet, there would be no swimming until the end of the Champions Trophy.

While the protocol remained a secret, Dutch player Robbert Kemperman’s genial tweet ‘Life is good in India!’ with just his feet immersed while sitting on a chair and reading a book raised a curious thought from a Dutch journalist.

“One of the worries is that the pool may contain stagnant water and may not be cleaned regularly. There is a fear of it containing bacteria,” Caldas was reported as saying by the Dutch media.

“I understand it is the best way for the players to relax but there is a greater chance of getting sick. “Some players from other teams, who have used the pool, have been ill. So beforehand, we have made it clear to the pool that they should not carry their swimsuit.”

In fact, it is just not a ban on swimming by Caldas but team doctor Wart van Zoest had issued a list of do’s and don’ts before the Oranje emplaned to Bhubaneswar.

From not from shaking hands with unknown people, to brushing teeth in mineral water only because the tap water at hotel may be impure -- read infected by human pee and poop -- to a ban on cappuccino as the milk may be stale, the list has plenty.
In fact, the entire list is available on hockey.nl, the newswire of the Dutch Hockey Federation (KNHB).  Read it to believe it!