No sweets, fast food till LA Olympics, says Savita Punia

No sweets, no chocolates, or fast food until the Los Angeles Olympics — this is a self-imposed diet pledge taken by the Indian women’s hockey team as they sharpen their focus on securing podium finishes at the FIH World Cup and the Asian Games, says the legendary goalkeeper Savita Punia.

The Indian team, which scripted history with a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, continues to follow their strict fitness regime introduced by the strength and conditioning coach Wayne Lombard, who is back with the team as scientific advisor and head of athletic performance during the Olympic cycle.

“Wayne is as good a trainer as he is strict. He has set very high standards for fitness and always says that if you want to achieve something, you must be willing to sacrifice,” Savita said. She recalled the first decision was to eliminate sugar and junk food from the team’s diet before the Tokyo Olympics, and the change in the team’s fitness levels is evident.

“The first thing in this diet plan was (to) cut out sugar. There were no sweets, chocolates or fast food in the kitchen and that hasn’t changed. Recently, after winning the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand, a cake was ordered for the team, but we all laughed because none of us was going to eat it,” she said.

“Our fitness level has improved immensely, and that is very important in modern hockey,” she added.

The veteran custodian, who has represented India in more than 300 international matches, said the biggest difference from the Tokyo Olympic campaign is that players are now self-motivated to maintain fitness standards.