Staying in the moment has helped the women hockey team to change the course of history, believes Udita, who is a defender in the national team. She was expressing feelings on the performance of team India at the recently concluded Olympic Games, Tokyo.
This time quadrennial games were jam-packed with surprises, excitement and thrill. By playing semi-finals for the first time on the international stage, the women have already made the country proud. Their phenomenal performance gathered praises from all around the world. Although the women in blue stood fourth at the high-spirited game, their play was nonetheless unnoticed.
The battle for the Bronze was adventurous and with a slight missing grasp, Great Britain claimed victory 4-3. The journey, however, wasn’t easy to the last history scripting match. India defeated three-times world champion Australia at the quarterfinals.
“I think staying in the present moment was the biggest reason why we could bounce back after facing three losses in the opening matches. It also helped us beat a strong team like Australia (in the quarterfinal) and eventually script history in Tokyo,” Udita said in a Hockey India release.
“As a youngster, we have learned so much from this historic campaign. We got to learn how to deal with massive pressure at the biggest of stages, and we also learned how staying in the present moment can help you do wonders,” added the 23-year-old hockey champion.
Born in Hisar, Udita is presently a part of the 25-member senior women’s core probable for the national camp in SAI, Bengaluru.