Women’s Hockey: After Tokyo high, India drift away from Olympics; fail to make Paris cut after losing 1-0 to Japan at Ranchi qualifiers

There will be Indian representation in women’s hockey at the Paris Olympics.

Unfortunately for Savita Punia & Co., it won’t be them. The only one who’ll be there in the French capital come July will be former men’s team goalkeeper and Sydney Olympian Jude Menezes – as coach of Japan.

Menezes’s side dished out a defensive masterclass to protect their slender one-goal lead for 54 minutes as Japan dashed India’s Olympic qualifying hopes. The team that finished fourth in Tokyo will not be going to Paris.

In one dugout, the Mumbai-born Menezes got on his knees and said a silent prayer. In the other, teary-eyed Indian players sat in silence.

Silence is what had gripped the stadium for large parts of the winner-takes-all third-place match at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh stadium. It’s what Menezes demanded from his players, too – start energetically, score an early goal and quieten the stands, which may be modest in size but can make the opposition quiver in their shoes with the noise they emanate.

It was also the way to throw India off their preferred style. In the two matches India won in the Olympic Qualifying tournament – both in the group stage against New Zealand and Italy – they were super quick off the blocks, attacking from the get-go and scoring in the first minute itself.

On Friday, it was the opposite. From the first minute, Japan pushed India so deep in their own defensive third that the last line of defence could practically high-five goalkeeper Savita Punia.

Japan take an important lead in the first quarter of their FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier game vs India.

The winner of this game will qualify for @paris2024 . #enroutetoparis

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— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) January 19, 2024

”We talked about putting India under pressure, we went up in attack, pressed higher and said let’s hope for mistakes,” Menezes said after the match. “It set them back a bit. They did not play their free-flowing style and it was one of our tactics. We had to stop India’s runs. If they do that, they’ll kill you.”

Japan moved the ball quickly, slapped in hard ground shots into the ‘D’ and played smart aerial balls to try and force an error from the Indian defenders. They obliged. Inside the first five minutes, Japan earned a couple of penalty corners and scored from one of those – Kana Urata’s shot went through the legs of Savita to give the visitors the lead.

It’s easy to judge even with eyes closed when India are chasing a game while playing at home – it’s when the sound of the ball hitting the stick echoes inside a packed stadium. For Menezes, that would have been music to his ears for it was the affirmation of his team’s dominance.

Japan could have added at least two more in the first quarter where they never took the foot off the gas.

There’ll be questions over some of the tactical decisions India coach Janneke Schopman made. The biggest and most glaring of them all was her decision to play Salima Tete through the middle when the forward almost unfailingly delivers while playing on the right flank.

Playing in the centre of the pitch never allowed Salima to fully use her biggest asset – her speed. And so, India launched most of their attacks in the second quarter, when they finally got into some sort of a rhythm. But Deepika, playing on the left, was constantly boxed in and Japan never gave India the space to seriously threaten their goal.

Salima switch

That changed with one minor tweak in the second half – Schopman, knowing her future in India depended on these 30 minutes – switched Salima to the right flank and India suddenly looked like a team transformed.

Ranchi: Japanese and Indian players in action in the FIH Women’s Olympic Qualifiers 2024 hockey match at Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium, in Ranchi, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)

Her pace forced Japan to retreat deep into their half, which opened up the midfield for India. The consequence of that was an all-out attack for the remainder of the match. India, who earned only two penalty corners in the first half, went on to win seven in the next two. They couldn’t convert any.

The team persisted with Deepika – the youngster who is the designated drag-flicker – while not giving Udita Duhan, who has actually been on a hot scoring spree with her slap-shots in PCs, many opportunities to test the goalkeeper. It’s one of the many tactical decisions the team will ponder upon.

It’s not like India depended solely on corners for goals. Udita had a golden chance to score a field goal and level the scores; Lalremsiami, too, had her moments and so did Navneet Kaur and Sangita Kumari. But whatever India tried, Japan’s calm defence had an answer for that.

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India had 11 shots on goal and enjoyed 58 per cent possession. But they could not breach the Japanese fortress. “If we would have played attacking from the first moment, the result might have been different, But we did not give up,” Savita said. “I have no words… our team deserved to be in the Olympics. But Japan also deserved it.”

For Japan, the Olympic streak dating back to 2004 continues. They’ll be shepherded in Paris by an Indian. But India won’t be there. India’s fine run of playing in back-to-back Games after not having been there for more than three decades comes to an abrupt end.

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