New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Indian rower Poonam is gearing up for her first-ever appearance at the Asian Games as she will be competing in the Women's four event in Aichi-Nagoya.

From taking up the sport almost accidentally to now enjoying it with every stroke feeling like music, Poonam has come a long way from competing at the university level to now representing India at the Asian Games.

She began her career with athletics but switched to rowing to get admission for her graduation. "I started rowing because I got the opportunity to get admission for my graduation through sport. At that time, I never thought that rowing would become my career. I just wanted to make use of the opportunity and see where it could take me," she said.

The starting days in the sport were not that easy. Due to limited coaching and challenges in settling into a new environment, Poonam initially set herself smaller targets. She hoped to establish her authority at the university and national level before those ambitions got wings.

"Initially, my dream was to win a gold medal at the inter-college and university level. Then I wanted to win a medal at the Senior Nationals. Slowly, my goals started getting bigger. We have won gold medals at the Nationals, Senior Nationals and National Games, and now I am at the Asian Games," she said.

Poonam trains at the Inspire Institute of Sport and reflected on how it has been helping her during her career.

"There have been a lot of changes after coming to Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS). I have been part of their rowing programme for the past one year. We get a lot of support here, and the staff takes care of our nutrition, physiology and psychology. Because of this environment, we feel more confident and feel that we can do much more," she said.

"I am feeling very good about going to the Asian Games. We had been working towards getting into the camp for the last few years, and we have been able to stay together and train consistently since last year. That has helped us improve a lot and has given me a lot of confidence," she said.

She has now had a training stint in Europe under her belt. Poonam revealed how training in Europe has changed her mindset, showing that the Indian rowers can compete with them too.

"Our Europe trip was very good because we learnt how to handle pressure and control our nervousness during a race. Earlier, when we saw the European teams, we used to think about when we would be able to beat them. But after competing with them, we realised that we are not very far behind. We can compete with them," she added.

As she prepares for the Asian Games, Poonam is also drawing confidence from the time she and her teammates have spent training together.

"We have spent a lot of time training together, and that has helped us understand each other better. In rowing, everyone has to move together and maintain the same rhythm. The more time we spend together, the more confident we become as a crew.”

Now she enjoys the sport even more, highlighting that the sound of strokes feels like music to her. "Every stroke feels like music. The catch is different, the finish is different, and the movement of the boat is different. We don't get bored because we are so involved in it. Sometimes we keep rowing for one or two hours and don't even realise how much time has passed," she said.

--IANS

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