Coronavirus: 'There's no point worrying about it' - Mullan on Olympic fears
- Published
Ireland qualified for the Olympics by beating Canada in a play-off
Ireland hockey captain Katie Mullan says "there's no point wasting energy" worrying about coronavirus ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Olympic organisers have said the Games will go ahead as scheduled in June.
However the outbreak in China has led to the cancellation of several sporting events across Asia and Europe.
"It hasn't really rattled us and there's no point sweating about it," said Mullan, whose side qualified for their first Games.
Ireland's preparations for Tokyo have already been hit after a training camp in was moved from Malaysia to South Africa due to the outbreak of the virus.
"It's disappointing from our preparation point of view, but we still feel that the Olympics are far enough away for the Coronavirus to be under control by then," added Mullan, speaking on Sportsound Extra Time.
"It's hard to know what to believe with the virus, you hear different things all the time.
"Obviously the outbreak in Italy is more concerning because it is a little bit closer to home, but we don't really get involved in talking about it.
"For us, we've worked so hard to qualify that we are just trying to control what we can control, which is all of our training and preparations."
Mullan captained Ireland to a silver medal at the World Cup in 2018
While Mullan admits Ireland had planned to go to Malaysia to train in similar conditions to Tokyo, she says there are still benefits to making the switch to South Africa.
"There are still going to be hot temperatures and humidity, plus there are four other teams there at the same time as us," said the 25-year-old.
"We'll get to play matches against them, which is the most important thing.
"We're in that phase now where we are working incredibly hard and we are trying to get our fitness levels and our physicality up.
"This is the toughest phase because the games are still quite far away and the pressures of selection are going around in everyone's head.
"It's a tough phase, but that is what builds our character and that is where our culture really shines through."
Listen to Sportsound Extra Time with Nikki Gregg, Katie Mullan, Leah McCourt and Jamie Conlan