After recovering from a serious eye injury hockey player Reena, is looking for selection in the Tokyo Olympics team.
Reena made her debut in 2017, she fought hard during these challenging times with her self belief.
Reena said, “I was using a stretch-band to do some simple flexibility exercise when the band snapped and hit my left eye. It happened so quickly that I had no time to react. At that time, little did I know that the next four months would be the worse phase of my life.”
She was part of the 2018 Asian Games and won the silver medal. Everything was going well until she had an injury in 2019. There was no chance for her to take part in Olympics Qualifiers.
Reena said about her injury, “Initially the doctor has said it will heal soon but even after a month when the pain was persistent, the doctor then advised surgery to rule out permanent damage to the retina. This news was devastating and all I could think of was whether I will ever play hockey again.”
After taking a long break from game she came in July to the national camp.
She said,” I was advised two months bed rest and when I returned to the camp chief coach Sjoerd would talk to me regularly to pep me up. He would tell me about a player in the Netherlands who played hockey with vision only in one eye.
“Positive stories like these and emotional support from my parents and some close friends outside of hockey kept me motivated.”
She further added, “When I held the stick again, after almost three months, I knew I would do anything to return to the team and I am thankful to the coaching staff who supported me with a step-by-step return to full training and didn’t put any kind of pressure.”
She made her comeback for Test Event in Tokyo in August 2019 and she was available for FIH Olympic Qualifiers selections.
In December, she went from another surgery,but she was out of danger after the surgery.
Reema said about her debut, “I got a break in the Indian team quite late. I was around 24 when I made my India debut and my junior India experience is less, so the next one year I will do everything I can do prove myself worthy of a place in the Olympic-bound India squad.”
