Minutes after the Indian women’s team’s Olympic qualification hopes ended, the first thought for most people was about the future of coach Janneke Schopman. It might seem premature but that’s how it has been in Indian hockey – Graham Reid had sent in his resignation the day the 2023 men’s World Cup finished.
While Schopman herself was non-committal -- “I don’t know” was all she said when asked about her future – Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey took a more balanced view. “I can’t say anything right now, it’s too fresh. But we will look at the future plans and talk to everyone concerned – the federation, coaches, players and the selectors -- and then decide. But the development plan will continue on this path. For us, women are as much a priority as the men. There is an important tournament every two years, so we need to keep that in mind,” Tirkey said.
But as a player who has seen the highs and lows of Indian hockey, Tirkey was understanding of the situation. “We have no major concerns about the coach. If you see the way the team is playing, we have done well in recent times. In the last few tournaments, we won bronze at the Asian Games and then won the Asian Champions Trophy. We beat Japan in both tournaments easily.
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“Here also, I won’t say we were very bad, especially if you consider the absence of three key players in every department – Vandana Katariya (forward), Sushila Chanu (midfield) and Deep Grace Ekka (defence). I would say we were outstanding against Germany,” he explained.
“If we could not create chances or get penalty corners or match the opposition then yes, maybe you can question. But if players are unable to convert on field, you cannot blame the coach. We fought back against Germany and Savita gave us a 2-0 lead in the shootouts also but we could not retain it. Today we got nine PCs but couldn’t convert. If you don’t score you can’t win. I would say we lost our chances but to blame the coach would be unfair,” he declared.
Of the three players he mentioned, Vandana and Sushila are injured while Deep Grace, for reasons unknown, has been out of the team. Sources said she has already informed HI about her desire to quit international hockey for personal reasons. HI officials and some of the selectors insisted they had asked her to continue at least till the Olympics but the Odisha veteran had declined.
India plays its next competitive game in 15 days and while the Pro League may not have the same importance now without an Olympics to look forward to, any decision will need to take into account India’s future schedule over the next two years leading up to the 2026 World Cup. There have been reports of certain sections of Hockey India being unhappy with Schopman and wanting to sack her soon after the Asian Games before Tirkey took a stand against it, citing the Qualifiers. This time around, it may be a tougher task.
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