New Delhi, March 14 India women's hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne has been forced to cancel his plans of visiting his family in the Netherlands in the wake of the travel restrictions put in place due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
"Had to turn around on my way to the airport to go to my family. The risk is too great that I can't return to India. Hard times for everyone and for me now that I can't see my family and I don't know when this is going to happen...," Marijne said on Twitter.
The 45-year-old was supposed to travel to the Netherlands on Friday night for a week during a brief break of the national camp of the women's hockey team. However, now his trip to the family stands cancelled.
The team is scheduled to assemble for the camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru on March 22.
The women's hockey team were the first to get affected by the coronavirus pandemic which has so far affected more than 80 people and has claimed two lives as well.
The team was supposed to be in China from March 14 to 25 as part of their preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics scheduled from July 24 to August 9. However, it was cancelled last month.
With Hockey India deciding not to enter the team in the FIH Hockey Women's Pro League, they have to make do with the test series against teams that are not involved in the competition.
( With inputs from IANS )