Indian hockey team undergoes Yo-Yo test to improve fitness

Uthra G Chaturvedi

As the Indian men’s hockey team walked in, for what was effectively their first day of training in more than three months, there were no sticks or balls that came into play. Instead, there were cones spread out across one part of the turf at the National Stadium. It was time for the Yo-Yo endurance test, novel to this team but used extensively in football, tennis and basketball training.

The team management recorded averages of levels 17 and 18 for the team at the end of the test, a heartening outcome. Coach Harendra Singh was satisfied with the initial readings.

“The top European teams and the Australians, during training, easily score around 22-23. The Australians score about 15 when they come back from a layoff. There is no limit to how far you can go — it’s upto an individual. But given that these players have been completely off practice and some of them are returning from injuries, what they have clocked today is good,” Harendra said.

On Thursday, 25 players took the Yo-Yo test, which involves running hard between the markers kept at a distance 20m apart, follwed by a 5-second recovery over five metres before dashing again over the 20m. The laps start at a slow speed at lower levels and slowly go up, with the time taken for the laps reduced with every level.

Gurbaj Singh and Ravi Pal topped among the lot, reaching level 21 each, while Arjun Halappa and Vikram Pillay, the seniormost players in this squad, managed 20. “I don’t like to come up second best. So I give my best, whether it is competition or training or a fitness test,” Halappa said.

While the team has always undergone fitness tests at the beginning of every preparatory camp, the Yo-Yo test was done for the first time with GPS devices and heart rate monitors attached.

Coach Harendra knows that well begun is only half done. “We have to take care of the players’ training, rehabilitation, recovery and diet to ensure they match up with the best in the world,” he said.