‘Staying in the present moment helped us create history at Tokyo Olympics 2020,’ says India defender Udita

“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
Quarter
Final)
and
eventually
script
history
in
Tokyo.
We
stopped
thinking
about
the
results
and
kept
things
simple,
which
helped
us
play
our
natural
game,”
said
Udita.

While
speaking
about
her
Olympics
experience,
the
23-year-old
defender
added,
“I
had
always
dreamt
of
playing
against
top
teams
at
marquee
events
like
Olympics,
and
making
my
Olympic
debut
against
the
Netherlands
was
truly
a
dream
come
true.
It
was
also
my
career’s
first
match
against
the
Dutch
side,
so
it
was
a
special
feeling,
though
we
lost
that
match.
However,
we
went
on
to
script
history,
and
I
feel
very
fortunate
to
be
a
part
of
it.”

When
asked
about
her
takeaways,
the
young
gun
said,
“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.”

The
Hisar-born
player
is
currently
part
of
the
25-member
senior
women’s
core
probable
group
for
the
national
coaching
camp
in
SAI,
Bengaluru.
She
said
that
the
team
is
super
excited
to
be
back
at
the
camp
and
can’t
wait
to
start
the
new
season.

“We
are
super
excited
to
be
back
at
the
camp,
and
can’t
wait
to
start
our
new
season.
Our
first
target
will
be
to
work
on
fitness
because
we
haven’t
done
anything
since
coming
back
from
Tokyo.
We
will
also
analyse
our
Olympics
performance
in
detail
and
work
on
accordingly,”
said
the
defender.

“We
have
a
crucial
year
ahead
of
us,
with
the
all-important
Asian
Games,
our
goal
will
be
to
win
the
Gold
medal
there,
and
qualify
directly
for
the
Paris
Olympics,”
she
signed
off.

Source:
Media
Release