Sonipat:Indian Junior Women's Hockey team's young defender Mahima Choudhary's journey has not been a straight forward one, was once on the verge of quitting the sport for further studies, because she was not getting picked for even her state side.
However, patience and determination, along with support from her parents saw her keep at it, and eventually become one of India's finest Junior players in defense.
Speaking from her home in Sonipat, Haryana, the youngster reflected on her initial days. "When I look back, the only thing that stands out for me is that I have had times when I would think about giving up the sport because I wasn't getting selected into the state Junior team. Having started playing hockey in 2011, I ended up playing in four Hockey India Sub-Junior National Championships before I finally received my Junior team call-up from Haryana.
I had waited for that opportunity for more than four years and there were times I would think about quitting the sport because I wasn't progressing in my career.
It was more difficult because my family had shifted to Sonipat especially because of me, and I knew there was a lot riding on my shoulders so I would feel demotivated often," said the youngster, whose family is native of a small village named Kalsi in Uttar Pradesh.(UNI)