Mental fitness is as important as physical fitness, says India's hockey defender Jarmanpreet Singh

Bengaluru: Indian men's hockey team defender Jarmanpreet Singh on Friday stressed on the importance of mental fitness as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympic amid a raging COVID-19 pandemic.

The 24-year-old has been training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru as part of the Senior Core Group ahead of the Olympics.

"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," said Jarmanpreet in a release issued by Hockey India.

India were supposed to play their FIH Pro League away matches against Great Britain, Spain and Germany this month but the ties were postponed due to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"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," he said.

Asked how he is preparing for the Tokyo Games, 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."

Jarmanpreet, 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."