Slowly but surely getting back to rhythm, says Varun Kumar

"As sportsmen, you face a lot of different challenges in your career - there are ups and downs - frustration when you can't score, disappointment of defeats and the joys of winning - but this feeling of having tested positive for Covid19 was unlike any other. I felt like I had a moral responsibility towards everyone around me, to ensure I don't end up passing it to someone else. And I am really happy that all six of us could recover well," said Varun.

The drag flicker, who was part of the FIH Junior World Cup winning India colts team in 2016, further said that the players are now ensuring they follow to the T what the team's chief coach and scientific advisor are guiding them to do to return to previous form.

"Now it is all about making sure we are doing what the chief coach and our scientific advisor have asked us to do. We are on the correct path, and having resumed sports activities, I feel like I am regaining my rhythm. There is no better feeling than playing hockey, and having been away from it, you get a sense of what you've missed out on as well," expressed the player from Mithapur, Punjab.

A big fan of football great Cristiano Ronaldo, Varun wished the ace Portuguese player a speedy recovery. He said, "A lot of people around the world, including top-level athletes have contracted the virus, and last night I heard one of the fittest people in the world - Cristiano Ronaldo - also testing positive for the virus. I hope he recovers soon and returns to action."