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Virat Kohli reckoned the level of fitness of the Indian hockey team during the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit on Tuesday. The Indian batting legend and a Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart, Virat Kohli, expresses that the Indian hockey players are more physically fit than the cricket team.
Kohli is among the cricketers across the globe who are often positioned as fitness icons. The 37-years-old stats that fitness should be a benchmark and essential element of the game, not something extraordinary.
We are not even 15% of the fitness of an Indian hockey player: Virat Kohli
He further says that the game demands to be a player fit by all standards. Acknowledging cricket’s popularity in India, Virat found that the other sports in the country, where the players do a lot of hard work, remain mostly overlooked.
“I know people sometimes look at fitness as something extraordinary, but for me, it's simply what the job demands. It should be the norm, not something celebrated as special. Cricket is in such prime focus in our country that we often overlook other sports,” Virat Kohli said in a release.
“If I'm being brutally honest, we are not even 15% of the fitness of an Indian hockey player. If the hockey players watch our training sessions, they'd probably laugh because their sport demands far more physicality," he added.
Indian Men's Hockey Captain recalls a conversation with Virat Kohli
On this occasion, Indian Men's Hockey Captain Harmanpreet Singh recalled a recent interaction with the Indian cricket team superstar. Harmanpreet mentioned that Virat was very curious to know more about hockey, about the fitness benchmarks of the game, as it is a fast-paced sport.
Being a fast-paced game, hockey demands all of its players to be fit at the highest possible level. The Indian hockey cricket team is not an exception.
"We had a great conversation around fitness, not too long ago, at an event. He told me hockey is such a fast sport, and was curious to know about our fitness benchmarks. We spoke about the yo-yo test, and when I told him that even our goalkeepers score above 20, he was genuinely surprised,” Harmanpreet Singh said.
Harmanpreet further mentions that they had a great discussion around the training and fitness. The skipper of the national hockey team expresses his gratitude to the Indian cricket legend for recognizing the nature of the game.
“We had a wonderful discussion and shared experiences around training and fitness. I am grateful that someone like Virat Kohli brought attention to the fitness standards of hockey players because ours is one of the fastest and most physically demanding sports in the world. Recognition like this means a lot to the hockey community," he added.
'Hockey is incredibly fast'
Manpreet Singh, an experienced Indian hockey midfielder, echoes Harmanpreet’s words. Manpreet explains hockey as a blend of speed, endurance, and continuous running. So, players always need to ensure their fitness at the top level.
“Hockey today is incredibly fast. The ball travels from one end to the other within seconds, and players are constantly moving, pressing, and transitioning. The game demands top-level fitness because our sport is built on speed, endurance, and continuous running,” Manpreet Singh stated.
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