Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing is in danger, the number of infected players is rising – ŠPORT.sk

National teams are preparing “bubbles”

“It is dangerous that the situation may change every day. It’s a dynamic process. ” said Franz Reindl, President of the German Hockey Association, who is also a member of the IIHF Council and is well acquainted with the problems of the individual national federations. Therefore, a crisis meeting will be held in Zurich, where the parties will discuss all issues for and against the Olympic tournament.

INTERRUPTED BY KHL

Pandemic problems are experiencing several European hockey competitions, the program of which has been significantly eroded by the disease. The KHL management decided to interrupt the season after the increase in coronavirus cases in individual teams. The last matches of the basic part will take place tomorrow, the competition will continue after the “covid” break from Saturday, January 22.

There are currently seven quarantined clubs – Yekaterinburg, Ufa, CSKA Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Dinamo Riga, Magnitogorsk and Spartak Moscow. As of Tuesday, up to 124 players had a positive coronavirus test at the KHL, 27 of whom had been quarantined in the past 24 hours, the AP reported. After the overseas NHL banned the participation of hockey players at the Beijing Olympics, the KHL is to have a massive player representation at the Olympic tournament.

The situation with postponements is similar in Finland, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic. There are heightened concerns, especially after the Under-20 World Championships, which ended prematurely after positive coronavirus tests caused the contamination of three duels and quarantined three national teams.

THE DELAY WAS CANCELED

It is questionable how the lists of national teams from the competitions in which COVID-19 rules will be created before the Olympic Games. “Several questions need to be answered. For example, what happens when players become infected on the spot or on the way back? ” asks Gernot Tripcke, General Manager of the German Hockey League (DEL). The clubs of the German highest competition agreed in a video conference that the matches could be played during the Olympic break as well.

The premise is that the teams agree on a date and want to play. It was originally supposed to be a break for the Olympic Games from January 29 to February 22. “The current situation requires us to remain flexible, so it makes sense that clubs now have the opportunity to play. We are sure that we will be able to finish the individual matches that were last canceled for COVID-19, ” Gernot Tripcke told the official DEL portal.

ALWAYS PREPARE “BUBBLE”

Hockey, unlike other Olympic sports, is more at risk from coronavirus. Only the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can give a major verdict on the case of the cancellation of the Beijing tournament, which is to start on February 9. However, decisions can only be made on the basis of the IIHF’s position.

The Slovak Extraliga will not be interrupted for the Olympic tournament. However, the Slovak national team would like to avoid the inconveniences and possible quarantine of the players, and therefore wants to choose insulation in the form of a “bubble” in preparation for the Olympics.

“We are considering some form of ‘bubble’ in preparation for the Winter Olympics, but it all depends on the agreements between the federations, the federations and the individual competitions, and on when we will actually be able to count on the players in preparation. Everything is still open and we are still preparing the term ‘bubbles’. We want to do everything so that our players can safely prepare for the Olympic tournament and safely represent Slovakia, “ Peter Jánošík, a spokesman for the Slovak Ice Hockey Association, told Sport.

KOVAĽČUK: WE ARE NOT SUBJECT TO PANIC

The general manager of the Russian national hockey team, former NHL and KHL star Ilya Kovalchuk, does not see the health situation before the Beijing Winter Olympics in pink. Do not panic.

Kovaľčuk told the daily Sovietskij Sport that he was ready for various forms of final preparation before the Olympic Games, depending on the health condition of the players.

“The situation is really not good. We really have a lot of sick players who are in the circle of candidates for the ‘team’ jersey. The important thing is that we are in contact with the KHL management and we have detailed reports about each player from the wider nomination. We need their eventual course of the disease to be asymptomatic or with a minimal burden on the organism, but especially with the prospect of a rapid and complete cure, after which it would not threaten recurrence, said Ilya Kovalchuk.

For the time being, the Russians are adhering to the original variant, according to which they will be transported to Novogorsk on January 20, where there will be representatives of other sports at that time.

“As soon as we arrive, we will analyze everyone’s condition individual and only on the basis of the results will the athletes be allowed to move around the base. So a ‘bubble’ will already operate in Novogorsk, the whole society will be closed. I believe that everyone will approach this responsibly. We plan daily testing of players, coaching staff and sports facility staff on an ongoing basis, ” added Ilya Kovalchuk.

The general manager of the Russian national team has the idea that the first two days will take up time to gather detailed information about the physical condition of the players on the base and for a short regeneration.

“Athletes will also receive theoretical information on how to deal with any changed situations. Then we proceed to a specific training work according to pre-prescribed microcycles developed by specialists. Two modeled matches are planned in Novogorsk, we will be rivals concretize later.

The selection of the 25-member team for the Olympic Games must be announced by January 23. We will arrive in Beijing on the evening of February 2. We already have information on all covid rounds in Beijing. I am in direct contact with the IOC Executive Director. If changes occur, we will know about them as soon as possible. “ added Ilya Kovalchuk.