Rodrigues spoke in depth post-match about the difficulties she has faced in recent times and made mention of those close to her that had never lost faith in her ability to perform on the big stage.
“I’ll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this – might be going through the same thing and that’s my whole purpose of saying it because nobody likes to talk about their weakness,” Rodrigues said.
“I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament and it was a lot before few games also I used to call my mum and cry, cry the entire time, let it all out, because when you’re going through anxiety, you just feel numb.
“You don’t know what to do. You’re trying to be yourself. And also in this time, my mum and my dad, they supported me a lot.
“And also, there was Arundhati (Reddy) who I think almost every day I’ve cried in front – almost every day I’ve cried in front of her.
“Later, I was joking, I said, you don’t come in front of me, I’ll start crying.
“But she checked on me every single day. And there was Smriti (Mandhana) who helped me. She also knew what I was going through. A few of the net sessions, she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came. She just stood there just because – didn’t say much, but she just knows that her presence is important for me.
“There’s been Radha (Yadav) who’s always been there taking care of me.
“I’m so blessed to have friends I can call family, that I didn’t have to go through it alone and it’s OK to ask for help.
“And that’s what happened. And my mum also, she’s as emotional as I am, but she went through a lot. My family went through a lot. But everyone stood by me and believed in me when I didn’t, when I couldn’t.”
