The outbreak of corona in the German team at the European Handball Championship further increased the concerns of the President of the German Ice Hockey Association, Franz Reindl, shortly before the Winter Olympics.
“I have to honestly say that shocked me,” Reindl told the German Press Agency. “The team was in a really good mood and suddenly something like that hits you.” The German handball players were particularly shaken at the European Championship with a total of 18 positive corona cases among players or officials and had missed the semi-finals.
Despite the unfortunate course of the tournament, Reindl described the handball players as role models for the German ice hockey team at the Winter Games in Beijing, which begin on February 4th. “I’m very impressed by how the handball players coped. I wish we had the same strength,” said Reindl, who, given the Corona circumstances, will not be traveling to Beijing with the team on Wednesday.
For the 2018 Olympic silver medalist, the ice hockey tournament begins on February 10 with a game against favorite Canada. In view of the risk of corona, Reindl warned against too high expectations of the German team. “The tournament is a piñata. So much can happen there,” said the 67-year-old, who won bronze as a player with Germany in Innsbruck in 1976.
