‘Indian Women’s Hockey Team will bounce back in FIH Pro League against Argentina,’ says midfielder Sonika

“We
have
been
training
hard
after
the
matches
against
Belgium.
Those
two
games
were
a
learning
experience
for
us
and
we
have
worked
on
our
strategies
for
the
upcoming
matches
against
Argentina,
accordingly.
We
are
hopeful
we
will
bounce
back
and
give
a
good
performance,”
Sonika
said.

Sonika
also
went
on
to
recall
how
she
began
developing
an
interest
in
the
sport
when
she
was
just
9
years
old.
A
visit
from
a
veteran
hockey
Coach
at
her
school
in
Hisar,
Haryana,
sparked
a
desire
in
young
Sonika
to
pursue
the
sport.
“It
was
the
first
time
I
had
seen
someone
wearing
the
Indian
tracksuit.
I
wanted
to
wear
the
same
and
represent
my
country
on
the
biggest
platforms,”
Sonika
said.

Sonika’s
Coach
advised
her
to
work
hard
to
fulfil
her
dreams.
From
then
on,
she
became
focused
and
started
training
rigorously
every
day.
Her
father,
who
was
a
volleyball
player,
gave
her
full
support
to
pursue
the
sport.
Her
mother,
too,
shunned
down
the
neighbours
who
questioned
them
for
pushing
their
young
daughter
towards
sports.

“I
was
quite
a
naughty
kid.
My
parents
thought
the
sports
will
discipline
me,
so
they
never
refused
to
let
me
go
for
training,”
Sonika
said.

In
2011,
Sonika
participated
in
her
first
rural
Nationals
for
Haryana
in
Ranchi.
She
then
went
on
to
become
a
part
of
the
Senior
Nationals
team
that
won
the
Gold
medal
in
2013.
In
the
2014
New
Zealand
Test
series,
Sonika
went
on
to
make
her
debut
for
India
Junior
Women’s
National
Team,
before
leading
the
team
as
Captain
in
Spain
in
the
Five-Nations
tournament.

Sonika
was
selected
at
the
Senior
Women’s
National
Camp
in
2016
and
made
her
Senior
debut
at
Hawke’s
Bay
Cup
in
New
Zealand.
She
was
also
part
of
the
Indian
Women’s
Senior
Team
that
won
the
Gold
medal
at
the
Women’s
Asia
Cup
in
2017.

In
2020,
after
the
New
Zealand
Tour
in
January,
Sonika
decided
to
take
a
break
from
the
sport
and
the
National
camp,
during
the
Covid-19
lockdown,
to
spend
time
with
her
family.

“I
wanted
to
be
with
my
family
amid
the
lockdown.
I
was
finding
it
hard
to
focus
on
the
sport.
I
am
thankful
to
my
parents,
my
teammates
and
the
Hockey
India
coaching
staff,
who
all
really
supported
me
at
that
time,”
she
said.

“Everyone
stayed
in
touch
with
me
and
kept
motivating
me
to
bounce
back.
It
really
helped
me
out
a
lot,”
Sonika
said.

In
2021,
Sonika
decided
to
make
a
return
to
hockey
with
the
Senior
Nationals.
“The
Senior
Nationals
gave
me
a
platform
to
showcase
my
talent
once
again,
and
gave
me
a
chance
to
bounce
back.
I
feel
grateful
that
I
am
back
on
the
field
again.
I
am
thankful
to
everyone
who
stuck
by
me
during
that
time.”

In
2022,
Sonika
was
selected
again
for
the
India
Senior
Women’s
Hockey
Team,
and
represented
the
country
in
the
FIH
Women’s
Hockey
Pro
League
2021/22
matches,
in
which
she
has
already
scored
one
goal
in
five
games.

Now,
with
the
FIH
Women’s
Hockey
World
Cup
2022
on
the
horizon,
Sonika
is
hopeful
that
India
Women’s
Hockey
Team
will
be
able
to
attain
a
podium
finish
this
year.
“We
have
been
working
really
hard
and
we
are
in
the
camp
for
almost
a
year.
We
want
to
have
a
podium
finish
as
it
will
be
the
ultimate
reward
for
all
of
our
hard
work,”
she
signed
off.