Sports and socialising go hand in hand so how is it faring during this time of social distancing? Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) takes you behind-the-scenes on Twitter with live Q&A and a rare peep into the day of players amid COVID-19.
As the world combats the COVID-19 pandemic, all the major sporting events in India and across the globe have either been postponed or cancelled including 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which the Indian hockey fans had been eagerly awaiting. While there is no live on-field action, Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) took to Twitter to engage with fans of the game and bring the players from both the men’s and women’s national teams to answer questions from passionate followers of the sport. This unique, open and real-time action harnessed the positive power of Twitter in the form of real-time engagement.
During the lockdown, @TheHockeyIndia conducted a special Twitter Q&A, #AskTeamIndia, and went live on the service with four players – India women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal (@imranirampal), India men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh (@manpreetpawar07), India men’s hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh (@16Sreejesh) and defender Harmanpreet Singh (@13harmanpreet) – all of whom interacted keenly with their fans.
PR Sreejesh (@16Sreejesh) shares, “Twitter has always been a great service to engage with our fans, we are happy to have their support in #AskTeamIndia initiative which is fun, meaningful and also in some way I hope we are motivating fans to stay positive and active during these difficult times.”
Here’s your chance to ask @imranirampal, @manpreetpawar07, @16Sreejesh and @13harmanpreet anything and they will answer your questions tomorrow!
All you have to do is tag @TheHockeyIndia and use #AskTeamIndia alongside your question!
Are you this happy right now?🥺
(3/4) pic.twitter.com/bWFTdsVHKN— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 27, 2020
Hey Sabapathi.. 🤗
Adding the pictures of the books which I finished … couple of them are there in my kindle as well 💪 pic.twitter.com/UW0smKjibW— sreejesh p r (@16Sreejesh) April 28, 2020
Currently we are only working on indoor fitness. Also working on our mental fitness and video analysis sessions. We all are trying to stay as much positive as we can.— Rani Rampal (@imranirampal) April 28, 2020
Hey
Hope you are safe !
So from the current indian squad
Respect to discipline- shreejesh
Behavior- rupinder bob
Relationship with co- player — mandeep and simran (bhai bhai)
Hardwork- everybody
Sincerity- shreejesh
Fun- maker —- simran gurinder and mandeep
Thank you 😊— Harmanpreet Singh (@13harmanpreet) April 28, 2020
Talivaaaa 😎😎😎😎😎— sreejesh p r (@16Sreejesh) April 28, 2020
Well our qualification to Tokyo Olympics is a great team effort and lot of hard work put in by our coaches & support staff alongwith @TheHockeyIndia It was an honour for me to lead the team during qualifiers. It was really a great moment for all the teammates & everyone involved.— Rani Rampal (@imranirampal) April 28, 2020
If you work out every day …. No food is unhealthy ( That’s my mantra) 😎— sreejesh p r (@16Sreejesh) April 28, 2020
In addition to this candid chat, @TheHockeyIndia also kept fans updated with behind-the-scenes pictures to share how players are spending time indoors.
Good Morning everyone! It feels as if 𝐵𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑛 𝐻𝑎𝑖! ☁️🎶#IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/qETeKH0ZOH— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 28, 2020
Din ki shuruaat ke liye, मेरे लिए तुम 𝐶𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑒 हो! ☕️🎶#IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/BsfL6Up9p6— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 28, 2020
𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑗 𝑇𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑑ℎ𝑡𝑎 𝐷ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑎, 𝐺𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑀𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝐷̶𝑎̶𝑛̶𝑔̶𝑎̶𝑙̶ ̶𝐷̶𝑎̶𝑛̶𝑔̶𝑎̶𝑙̶ dumbbell dumbbell! 🏋️♀️🎶
No day is complete without a #Workout!#IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/Fjsir1Va6U— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 28, 2020
The India women’s hockey team also completed a fitness challenge, as a part of which, they Tweeted fitness videos to raise funds to help those whose lives have been adversely impacted by Coronavirus.
Thank you for raising over ₹17,50,000 to help feed over 1000 families during this #Lockdown. 🙏
Come back tomorrow for yet another challenge by our Eves. #IndiaKaGame #100da #TakeChallengeGive100 #Give100ForCOVID pic.twitter.com/CRxJsJG8Cy— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 27, 2020
✔️ Completed Challenge
✔️ Raised over ₹15,00,000
🔜 Reach the goal of 20 Lakhs!
We appreciate everyone’s support on this journey to fight #COVID19. 🙌#IndiaKaGame #100da #TakeChallengeGive100 #Give100ForCOVID@sports_odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @udayfoundation @ketto pic.twitter.com/OV7E4QIJND— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 24, 2020
Stay tuned as real-time conversations around the Indian Hockey Teams continues to unfold on Twitter.
