New Delhi, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam heads into her second Asian Games with a confidence that was missing when she made her debut at the Hangzhou edition three years ago, and the young Manipuri rower believes she can make a bigger impact this time.
The 23-year-old will spearhead India’s challenge in the women’s coxless four, rowing at No. 3 alongside Poonam , Aleena Anto and Gurbani Kaur .
The quartet has trained and competed together since last year, giving them time to understand each other’s strengths and develop as a unit.
“My first international competition was the Asian Games in 2023. My performance was good, but I wasn’t very confident because I was still a junior at that time. I had to learn a lot from the seniors and take their advice,” Tendenthoi stated in a release.
This time, the preparation has been more consistent, with the crew also going through acclimatisation together and working on the mental side of competition, including meditation and sessions with a psychologist.
“This time, we got the chance to practice together for a long time. So we got to know each other better and got the chance to grow together. That has given us a lot of confidence,” she said.
Camps Down Under
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The crew’s preparation has also taken them outside India, with training camps in Australia and Europe and several international competitions exposing them to different conditions and the pressure of racing together at the highest level.
“We went to Australia for a camp and also spent a lot of time in Europe. We had the chance to compete in two or three competitions there, and we learnt a lot how to manage a competition, how to handle pressure, how to perform with confidence and how to perform together as a crew. I learnt a lot from those experiences.”
For Tendenthoi, that learning has gone beyond race technique.
Training alongside coach Lakshmi, a former Asian Games rower whom she had admired since childhood, has given her another source of confidence.
“I have known Lakshmi since around 2007-08. I had seen her practice and seen how she brought a lot of recognition to the state. She had competed at the Asian Games, and I was inspired by her even before I started rowing. Now, when I train with her, she takes care of us and motivates us whenever we feel less confident,” she said.
Tendenthoi’s own journey began in 2019, when she was introduced to rowing through a local club in Moirang.
Born into a fisherman’s family near Loktak Lake, she had grown up around water and, along with her sister, took part in water sports before rowing became her chosen sport.
She joined the national camp two years later.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.