Mental stress the reason behind releasing players?

Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh tweeted a photo with emoticons suggesting he was thrilled to be heading back home after more than '100 days in Bangalore'.   

The recent emphasis on mental health and the dangers of not addressing the issue could possibly have acted as a trigger for Hockey India to abandon the national camp for men and women here on Friday and rush the ‘distraught’ players back home.

On Thursday, the Sports Authority of India, South Centre here got a communication from its head office in New Delhi that all the players and support staff can be released with immediate effect. While the players and coaches, who started trooping out in batches from the wee hours of Friday, were jubilant to be finally heading back to their respective homes, the sudden decision by Hockey India took everyone by surprise considering for two months they’ve been maintaining that SAI is the safest place to be.

So what prompted the sudden change from HI? A source close to the development said the perils of side-stepping mental health illness following the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput may have played a role in HI turning compassionate. “Ever since the death of the actor, there has been a huge emphasis on mental health care. Actors, athletes and even comedians are talking about how dangerous it is if ignored. The homesick hockey players have been extremely stressed for over two months now. Yes, technology is there, but nothing can replace the hug of a mom, wife, father or friends. Some of them have young kids too. They’ve been yearning to meet them. We could sense they were mentally not there. It has been a very taxing time for them,” the source told DH.

A player, speaking on condition of anonymity, was thrilled that the administrators finally understood their plight. “They got to know that we were not in the best shape mentally. We were really worried and growing anxious because since March we haven’t seen our families. It’s easy to say that I’m mentally strong but in the campus we are lonely most of the time. Yes, the team is around you, but there’s nothing like family. Many of us say we are mentally strong, but it’s a lie.

“The coaches got a wind of our state of mind and I think they would have impressed upon the administrators. Imagine for two months we were not able to do anything because of the virus. Even when training resumed a couple of weeks ago, we could see all players were mentally exhausted and all they wanted was to go back home. Glad it has happened finally.”

DH reached out to several officials in Hockey India but all of them declined to comment on the matter. “Having consulted with the chief coaches of both the teams, Hockey India decided that it was important to give the players a much-needed break. These have been challenging times for everyone…. We believe this time off will help players return to Bangalore feeling fresh mentally and physically in order to resume preparations for the Olympic Games,” said HI president Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad in a release.

Coaches to stay in City

With Australia not allowing any in-bound flights, it has been learnt that men’s chief coach Graham Reid and analytical coach Chris Ciriello as well their spouses will continue to remain in SAI until situation brightens Down Under. Women’s team chief coach Sjoerd Marjine and analytical coach Janneke Schopman, both from Netherlands, have opted to fly home.

Players and support staff have been given a break until July 19 but it’s unclear now how the return arrangements will be made, especially quarantine.