Women's Hockey | Coach Harendra to focus on improving composure

Singh pointed that there were a lot of positives such as better penalty corner defending, circle penetrations, creating opportunities, fighting spirit, faster legs and speed on the field

Bengaluru: The Indian women’s hockey team left for Gongshu, China for the Asia Cup a fortnight ago from Bengaluru after posing for what has come to be a regular practice now - a group photo. Their departure, however, made little news as all of the attention was on their male counterparts chasing a world cup berth at the men’s Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar that was entering the business end of the event. 

Unlike the Harmanpreet Singh-led men, who were the top-ranked side and favourites to lift the trophy, the Salima Tete-led women were flying to their destination as a team still under construction. With the formidable hosts, the resilient Japanese and the tricky Koreans in the fray, not much was expected from the Indian women.  

As the Indian men won the title and celebrated their spot in the World Cup, the women swatted aside minnows Thailand and Singapore, prevailed over Korea, held Japan to two fighting draws but fell short twice against China to finish runners-up. While the second place was not enough to earn a ticket to the Netherlands and Belgium (hosts of World Cup 2026), it did provide a silver lining and the hope of genuine chance at the World Cup qualifiers in February 2026. 

“To be frank, I’m not happy with the silver,” head coach Harendra Singh told DH. 

“We couldn't get through despite a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. We were in it even when we were 1-2 down at half-time. But I think after conceding the third goal (in the fourth) we lost faith and that was disheartening. They scored their last three goals when we had the ball. A small mistake in awareness but we paid a heavy price,” summarised Harendra about the 1-4 loss to China in the final.  

Speaking about the takeaways from the 10-day competition, the 55-year-old pointed that there were a lot of positives such as better penalty corner defending, circle penetrations, creating opportunities, fighting spirit, faster legs and speed on the field. However, the coach opined that the weeks at the next camp beginning October 12 here will be focussed on improving the composure within the circle, attacking midfielders and upping the quality of shots on the goal that proved to be India’s weakness in China. 

“We did miss Deepika (main dragflicker), who got injured (hamstring) on the last day of training and I had to change the entire plan. But Udita and Navneet (Kaur) stepped up and took responsibility really well.” 

While Harendra concurred that his team was far from being a well-oiled unit, he attested that the girls had bounced back impressively from the low of missing the Paris Olympics a year ago when he took charge. So, is the coach happy with the progress made in the process of reaching the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?  

“We now have a good mix of experience and youth. Frankly, I wanted them to win and seal the World Cup spot. But, it’s fine. We have made big strides. 

“I expect these girls to finish in the top-5 at the World Cup. And I’m not going to accept anything less than a gold at the Asian Games,” claimed Harendra.    

It's back to the drawing board for the girls now as they play FIH Pro League, Hockey India League, World Cup Qualifiers and potentially the World Cup before landing in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September-October next year for the continental bash where a top of the podium finish will take them to the 2028 LA Olympics.