Indian women’s hockey forward Navjot Kaur has expressed her disappointment at not being a part of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medal-winning team, after testing positive for COVID-19 for the quadrennial showpiece event.
The 27-year-old missed his third Commonwealth Games appearance after testing positive for the virus and had to return home before the team’s campaign in the event began.
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Revealing the disappointment, the forward said, “I tested positive when I was in Nottingham, where we were training before checking in at the Games Village. I didn’t have any major symptoms and hoped to be back in the team by the time we got to the village. I was being tested every day and unfortunately, it was showing positive readings.
“To be honest, it was disappointing to go this way. It was very difficult and difficult for me to accept it. I’ve never missed a big tournament before, so I was dealing with this situation for the first time in my career.”
Having played over 200 international matches, Navjot has been an integral part of the Indian team’s success over the years. Since her debut in 2012, she has represented the country in all major tournaments and featured in some of the team’s biggest victories.
Navjot, however, said that it was the support of the team that kept him in the right spirit throughout this trial. “Our head coach Janke Schopman, staff members and my teammates were in constant touch with me. He was keeping an eye on me every day during the period of isolation. I consider myself lucky to be a part of such a wonderful team; They were really helpful and helped me through the tough times. Even mindfulness had helped me deal with the situation, stay calm and be in the present moment.”
Sharing his experience of watching the team’s historic bronze medal win in the Commonwealth Games from home, Navjot said, “I watched all the matches with my family. It was heartbreaking to see the team lose against Australia by a very narrow margin. But, the way the team came back to win the bronze medal was really inspiring. World The Cup campaign was also disappointing. We were playing very well, just the results were not in our favour. But, the team is really proud of the way they fought back and ended the long Europe tour with a historic bronze medal. ,
After returning to the training camp at the SAI center in Bengaluru, Navjot is eager to get back in the groove.
“We have had a good time preparing for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup in December 2022, which will help us qualify for the next edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League,” she concluded.
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