Women's Asian Champions Trophy: Indian player tests positive for COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus struck the Indian women's hockey team on Wednesday with a member of the Indian squad testing positive for the virus during routine testing at the Women's Asian Champions Trophy.

The Indian women's hockey team were scheduled to play South Korea on Wednesday. But due to the positive result, the match could not take place.

According to reports, all the others in the Indian women's hockey squad have tested negative.

This development comes after some Malaysian hockey players tested positive for the coronavirus a couple of days ago. The Indian camp is the second to be affected by the dreaded virus.

After the Indian women's hockey team thumped Thailand 13-0 in their opening match of the Women's Asian Champions Trophy, their second match against Malaysia was called off due to the COVID-19 issues in the Malaysian camp.

The Malaysian women's hockey team did not take the field for the first two to three days of the Women's Asian Champions Trophy after one of its players, Nurul Faezah Shafiqah Khalim, tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in South Korea.

Future of Asian Champions Trophy tournament to be known soon

With the Indian camp now affected, the Asian Hockey Federation has a task on hand to see how the tournament can go off without any further glitches. There is also the possibility of the Asian Champions Trophy being called off.

A source privy to the developments confirmed the emergence of a COVID-19 positive case in the Indian camp, while awaiting more details from the Asian Hockey Federation.

"We have to see what decisions the host federation and the Asian Hockey Federation take. The Indian camp will mostly undergo complete quarantine for the next few days until all reports come negative. The COVID-19 test was a routine affair, being done, before every match," the source said.

The Women's Asian Champions Trophy was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic.