“It was very special to receive the India jersey from my mother in front of my entire team,” says Sonika

Sonika’s mother traveled from Delhi to Bengaluru a fortnight ago to attend Sunehra Safar, a special send-off ceremony hosted by Hockey India. Little did the 26-year-old athlete know that her mother would present her with her India jersey before the crucial Hangzhou Asian Games, which are set to take place from September 23 to October 8.

“It was a genuinely amazing experience, particularly when I received the jersey in front of all my teammates and a large crowd. A tearful Sonika said, “Those few minutes on stage brought back all the memories of my fight and hurdles I had to overcome to be here, and my mother has also been a part of this journey – always supporting me at every pivotal moment.

At the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand in 2016, the midfielder from Hisar, Haryana, made her senior squad debut. She participated in the Ready Steady Tokyo competition in 2019 and was a member of the squad that won the Women’s Asia Cup gold medal in 2017.

Her burgeoning career, however, was put on hold the next year. She was forced to leave the National Camp in 2020 so that she could get the care she needed to rehabilitate her mental health. Lockdown at Covid wasn’t good to me. It was a challenging time for me personally, so I’m grateful that the team management quickly saw that I was struggling to maintain my mental fortitude and offered me expert assistance. After reflecting, I want to express my gratitude to Hockey India and my teammates for giving me this respite.

After a solid showing in the National Championships that year, Sonika returned to the national squad in 2021–2022, and she has only progressed in her career since. She has been a recurring member of the squad, having contributed to the historic Bronze medal victory in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 as well as the victory at the FIH Nations Cup in 2022.

“I am really thrilled and ready to compete in my first Asian Games. I’ve worked really hard to get to this point in my career, and the team feels optimistic about the performance since I’ve had success at important competitions like the CWG. The team is even more inspired and driven to win for the nation and our families in the wake of Hockey India’s Sunehra Safar tournament. Sonika said, “Our whole concentration is on taking home the Gold and doing well at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Pool A includes Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore in addition to India. On September 27, they will face off against Singapore to start their campaign.