Aside from getting back to hockey, what helped Punia stay afloat was her reliance on yoga and meditation.
“I was not feeling good. Tried a lot but the body was not cooperating. Then I took the help of yoga and pranayam and focused on fitness,” she said.
The Indian team will play Pro League matches in Belgium in May-June and the focus will be on fitness.
Punia understands that a new core group will take shape after the Nationals and she is prepared for the churning.
“Now a new core group will be formed and some new players will also come. The focus will be on fitness and drag flicks. We have to work on our game continuously,” she said.
Punia, who left for the national camp within days of getting married last year to prepare for Olympics, said her husband has also been her rock ever since the qualifiers debacle.
“My husband came after the Olympic qualifiers and gave a lot of encouragement. He said that we could not change what happened but can look ahead and play as long as you want to play. It was a very good thing for me that both my families supported me,” she said.
