BHUBANESWAR: A year ago, the Indian women's hockey side wasn't in a very good place. They had just failed to qualify for the Olympics, three years after agonisingly missing out on an Olympic medal. Their coach, Janneke Schopman, in a very revealing mixed zone interaction to two scribes, had poured her heart over the challenges of working in India. Rani Rampal, one of the finest players this country has seen, was left out in the wilderness. Savita Punia, a goalkeeper of some repute, was thinking about retirement. Suffice to say the team needed a pick me up.
A year after Schopman's resignation, team have taken several toddler steps towards addressing their long-term goal of qualifying for the 2028 Olympics. Harendra Singh, who had earlier coached the side in 2018, came back. Savita was encouraged to stay back. A women's Hockey India League, a first-of-its-kind league in the country, was created. A new captain (Salima Tete) was appointed.
The side went on a week-long, first ever training-um-bonding camo at the Indian Naval Academy at Kannur last July. "This transformative camp," a Hockey India press release had noted at the time, "conducted in the disciplined environment of the INA, aimed to enhance the team's skills and foster a spirit of unity and resilience. One of the focuses of the camp was to instil in players a sense of mental toughness, discipline and leadership.
Months into Singh's new job, there was the buy-in all coaches crave for when they walk into a new gig. A shiny title as they beat China at home to win the women's Asian Champions Trophy in November.
In terms of roster changes, there hasn't been churn. The players who featured at the Pro League one year ago are, by and large, part of Harendra's plans. There's a new energy in the contingent as they work towards the goal of qualifying for next year's World Cup as well as the Olympics in 2028. The drag-flickers have also had the chance to work with bio-mechanics experts... you get the drift, they are putting in place the foundations ahead of a big 2026.
It's been a mixed bag at the Kalinga Stadium over the last five days. A win and a draw against England followed by two tight losses to Spain, with the second coming under the lights on Wednesday. In four matches they have played in this season's edition so far, the work-rate and off-the-ball movements have been evident. That there is some sense of cohesion in the team structure is visible... These are the sort of things coaches tend to look at in a competition like the Pro League, especially at the start of a new Olympic cycle. They did have opportunities either side of Spain's solitary goal but the finish let them down on multiple occasions. "I'm really pleased with the fitness the players have shown, even at the end, you saw how they were fighting," coach Singh said after the match. "They are right up there, fitness wise. They can match the levels of all the teams. But we still need to work on a few of the things. "We have to improve our decision-making process, we have closed the gap (to the top sides) but we need to start scoring goals."
Men's team enjoy good evening
With Harmanpreet Singh and Hardik Singh restored to the starting line-up after missing Tuesday's match with niggles, the Men In Blue were good value for their 1-0 win over Germany in Wednesday's evening match. Gurjant Singh scored a field goal in the first quarter. With the hosts retaining structure and defensive discipline, the visitors found it hard to fashion shooting chances from open play. However, they did have a string of penalty corners at the end but failed to convert from any of them.
Wednesday's results: Men: Spain 4-1 England, India 1-0 Germany; Women: India 0-1 Spain