Pressure on coach, seniors before Olympics hockey qualifiers

When Janneke Schopman came to India for the first time, it was to stop the women’s team from qualifying for the Olympics. She failed, as the Sjoerd Marijne-coached team beat Schopman’s USA in the playoff.

Over the next one week, Schopman will now try to shepherd the Indian team to the Olympics. Failure, she knows, isn’t an option. For, it might cost her the job, end a few playing careers and break the fine streak the women’s team finds itself in.

Understandably, then, there will be a few nerves when India step onto the field against the same opponent they beat four years ago to kickstart another qualifying campaign.

Final prep mode on!

Team India going through the final practice drills at Ranchi, before they face Team USA tomorrow.

Join the action from January 13th to 19th, live on Jio cinema , Sports 18 3, and Sports 18 HD1. 📺
Starts at 12.30 PM (IST)#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame… pic.twitter.com/lsJUTVuw0y

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 12, 2024

They’ll bank on the familiarity of the venue, Ranchi, where egged on by capacity crowds, India won the Asian Champions Trophy a couple of months ago. But that was, at best, a series of glorified friendlies, the pressure of which pales when compared to the all-or-nothing qualifiers.

There’s a tournament within the tournament here. India’s first task will be to finish in the top two of their group, which includes New Zealand – an equal – and a potential banana skin opponent in Italy, apart from the dark horses USA.

If they successfully navigate past these teams and reach the semifinals, the task will be to finish in the top three and qualify for the Olympics. Given that the mighty Germany and a tricky Japan – expected to finish top two in the other pool – could be waiting for India in the second half of the tournament, the path to Paris will be far from smooth for the hosts.

Then again, if there’s any team that revels in the underdog role and thrives under pressure, it’s India. They did that in 2015, when Savita Punia stopped a barrage of Japanese attempts to secure India’s qualification. They did it again in 2019, with Rani Rampal doing what she did the best – be in the right place at the right time to score a goal. They punched above their weight in Tokyo and gave a good account of themselves at the Commonwealth Games.

#FIH हॉकी ओलंपिक क्वालीफायर के लिए #Ranchi तैयार…@TheHockeyIndia @hockeyjharkhan1 pic.twitter.com/nZp1rnIN57

— Office of Chief Minister, Jharkhand (@JharkhandCMO) January 11, 2024

But Schopman knows best the trap of revisiting the past. And the present looks tense.

Missing seniors

One of the senior-most players of the team, and a reliable goal-scorer, Vandana Katariya fractured her cheekbone last week and has been ruled out of the tournament. That leaves Neha Goyal and Navneet Kaur with added responsibility.

Another stalwart, defender and penalty corner specialist Deep Grace Ekka isn’t in Ranchi for reasons not made public. When asked on Thursday, Schopman crypticly replied: “You should ask her.”

It smelt of another senior player falling out with the coach after Rani Rampal was forced out of the team. Although with neither side speaking up, it’s only speculation.

Deep Grace’s absence will be felt in the defence but her powerful hits in penalty corners will be missed even more. Especially because Gurjit Kaur, the go-to drag-flicker, did not make the cut. Deepika, only 20, is expected to shoulder drag-flicking responsibility with some help from Udita Duhan. In a worrying scenario where the set-piece doesn’t work out, and with Vandana out, one wonders where the goals will come from.

We are in Ranchi for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier. #EnrouteToParis

📆 Tournament to be played from 13th Jan – 19th Jan 2024.

📱Download the https://t.co/71D0pOpuZ8 App to watch all the games LIVE!@TheHockeyIndia #HockeyEquals pic.twitter.com/USubmH9eZt

— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) January 12, 2024

If the Asian Champions Trophy was anything to go by, that burden will be effortlessly taken care of by the two Jharkhand players, Sangita Kumari and Salima Tete. Between then, they scored 11 goals but more importantly, playing in front of a home crowd, Sangita and Salima were a big reason why the modest Ranchi stadium felt like a cauldron to the visiting teams.

India will hope for more of the same starting Saturday. Especially Schopman, who has a point to prove. The former World Cup winner knows she very nearly got shown the door after the Hangzhou debacle and if not for stern intervention by Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, she would have been home by now.

“It’s difficult at times,” she said of the noise from the outside. “I practice a lot of mindfulness. I know what I can control, what I can’t. Life happens, things happen in unexpected ways. I just try to do my best, want to be the best coach I can be for my players. I can’t control more than that. If other people have a different opinion, then that is what it is.”

Schopman lost the qualifiers the last time playing against India. She’ll hope to win this time, with India.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.