The Yo-Yo test, or the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery (YYIR) test, is used to assess the fitness of elite international athletes across sports; and India's star midfielder and double Olympic medallist Hardik Singh believes the country's hockey players are fitter than cricketers when assessed on YYIR.
"In cricket if anyone is scoring 19 or 20 on the Yo-Yo Test, people call it the fittest. Sreejesh, who is a goalkeeper, scores 21," said Hardik on a podcast, a clip from which is doing the rounds on 'X' (formerly Twitter).
India won a second consecutive bronze medal in the Olympics last month, when the team led by Harmanpreet Singh went on to beat Spain 2-1 in the third-place playoff to finish on the podium at Paris 2024. Veteran goalkeeper Sreejesh retired from the sport after that and was appointed the coach of the junior men's team.
In 2021, Indian hockey had made a historic return to the Games podium after 41 years.
Giving deeper details about how assessment on YYIR test is done, Hardik said: "The main level starts from 15, there are 8 sprints. It goes on like that, 23.8 is last. We have seven players who have achieved 23.8."
The 26-year-old from Punjab, who has 142 international caps and scored 11 goals, added: "The junior girls (hockey team) score 17-18. Our (average) is 22-23."
The Indian men's hockey team will next be seen in action in a two-match bilateral series against Germany on October 23 and 24 in Delhi.
The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the ...
Read MoreThe TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the essence of live sporting events and deliver compelling content to readers worldwide.
From running live blogs for India and non-India cricket matches to global spectacles featuring Indian talents, like the Chess World Cup final featuring Praggnanandhaa and the Badminton World Championships semifinal featuring HS Prannoy, our live coverage extends to all mega sporting events. We extensively cover events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, and more.
The desk is also adept at writing comprehensive match reports and insightful post-match commentary, complemented by stats-based articles that provide an in-depth analysis of player performances and team dynamics.
We track news wires for key stories, conduct exclusive player interviews in both text and video formats, and file content from print editions and reporters. We keep track of all viral stories, trending topics and produce our own copies on the subjects.
We deliver accurate, engaging, and up-to-the-minute sports content, round the clock.
Read Less