Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): There is not always a strong man behind every successful woman; sometimes there is a single mother who went through hardships to provide her daughter with every luxury. Tulika Maan’s mother, Amrita Singh, stood with her daughter during her recovery from a knee injury. Maan is back on the mat and preparing to compete in international tournaments and training camps in order to qualify for the Olympics in 2024. Reflecting on the time that she spent off the mat owing to the injury, she said that keeping the spirit intact during the recovery period is one of the toughest moments for an athlete. "It takes a toll on an athlete to recover from a recovery period," she said.
When asked about the hardest period of Tulika’s life, she said, "I feel the hardest period is the time that an athlete spends off the mat, as many of us get injured during matches." It is common for athletes to get injured, but overcoming it is the hardest part of the sport. You gain weight, your fitness is hampered, and your stamina decreases. "It's difficult to make a comeback after an injury." Tulika has been brought up by her single mother, Amrita. Tulika's father passed away when she was just two-and-a-half-year-old. According to Tulika’s coach Yashpal Solanki and fellow judokas like Vijay Yadav and Olympian Avtar Singh, more than Tulika, it should be her mother who is called a champion. I couldn’t celebrate my silver, as I felt that I didn’t win silver, but it is a gold that I lost.
Remembering her 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medal victory, Maan said, "I couldn’t even celebrate the silver because it was the gold medal that I missed." No athlete is ever happy with any other medal but gold. It was more of a loss than a win for me as I lost gold, hence, I got a silver. "I want to win gold for my mother and for my country in the upcoming Asian Games." "Everyone focuses on an athlete's physical fitness, but I believe mental fitness and pressure have a greater impact on an athlete’s performance during matches and preparation," Tulika added.
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