Rourkela, April 22: The intense heatwave-like situation has adversely affected hockey practice here.

The mercury is hovering around the 45°C mark in Sundergarh district, while the maximum temperature in Rourkela has crossed 46°C.

The hockey coaches at the Panposh Sports Hostel and the SAIL Hockey Academy have decided to go slow with training in fear of the players falling sick.

"Hockey is a tough game and it follows a punishing training pattern," said the coach in charge of Panposh Sports Hostel, Amulya Bihari.

"We have changed the training pattern and reduced the training duration as well," he said.

The chief coach at SAIL Hockey Academy, Peter Tirky, also echoed Bihari.

He said: "In the morning session, we are only doing physical training, that too, with reduced intensity. Skill training has been slated for the evening session and its intensity has also been curtailed."

Trainees also find it difficult to practice hockey due to the scorching heat here.

"It is very difficult to practice under the harsh sun. So, we train ourselves very early in the morning for physical fitness and again start in the late evening under floodlights," said Preeti Barla, a hockey player from Panposh Sports Hostel.

The SAIL Hockey Academy is somewhat better equipped to deal with the summertime adversities.

"We have provided the trainees with air coolers in their hostel rooms. Our students are also not facing any water scarcity as we have our own underground water storage system," said Tirky.

The entire town of Rourkela and its nearby areas are facing severe water shortage.