Mental fitness as important as physical fitness, says defender Jarmanpreet Singh

Bengaluru [India], May 28 (ANI): India hockey defender Jarmanpreet Singh, who has been training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Bengaluru as part of the men's senior core group, feels mental fitness is as important as physical fitness to deal with the current situations. He said that players have been helping each other to create a positive environment around the team so that everyone stays in a happy zone.

"I feel mental fitness is as important as physical fitness to deal with the current situations. A player needs to be mentally strong, and for that, we have been helping each other. We communicate with each other, we try to create a positive environment around so that everyone stays in a happy zone. I feel because of this, there's a very good team bonding, which has been helping us with our preparations for the Olympics," said Jarmanpreet.

The 24-year-old defender, who made his debut for the national team in 2018, feels he is fortunate to have the support from the senior players since the beginning of his career.

"I am very fortunate and thankful to all senior players as well as coaches because they knew my past (the two-year doping ban in 2015), they knew I was returning after a long time. They have always supported me since the beginning. They have guided me at each step, and have been motivating me a lot. Moreover, it also helps when you have a senior player as a roommate. Kothajit (Singh) paaji is my roommate here, and we share a good bond on and off the field. We both talk about hockey off the field, and it has been helping me improve as a player," he said.

The defender also spoke about how the team is dealing with the current situations, with not getting international tours due to the travel restrictions ahead of the Olympic Games. He said, "I feel mental fitness is as important as physical fitness to deal with the current situations. A player needs to be mentally strong, and for that, we have been helping each other. We communicate with each other, we try to create a positive environment around so that everyone stays in a happy zone."

On being asked about how he is preparing for the Olympics, Jarmanpreet said, "My focus remains only on giving my best, with the full energy, and trying to improve each and every day at the training. I put on a challenge to myself that, I should keep reducing my margin of error." (ANI)