Indian women hope to put Olympic heartbreak behind, make strong start in FIH Pro League

It’s been two weeks since the Indian women’s hockey team’s Olympic dreams ended in Ranchi but the team is already planning for the next challenge at the FIH Pro League beginning here on Saturday. And despite brave words from coach Janneke Schopman about looking forward, it won’t be easy.

The two-leg mini tournament, across Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, will see India take on China in its opening game followed by Netherlands, Australia and USA, aware that all the teams barring the host have qualified for Paris but that won’t make it any less challenging. 

Of its four opponents, India has a better record against only China, including their last meeting at the Asian Champions Trophy but China won the one that really mattered – at the Asian Games.

The Dutch and the Aussies have a massively one-sided track record but they haven’t played India in an official competition since 2022. India has won only two games against each of them ever, in 11 and 14 matches respectively, as per FIH records – which only acts as a reminder of why the Tokyo Olympics victory against Australia was such a big deal.

As the team that ousted India from the Olympics race at the Qualifiers in the last game they played before coming here, it would be a grudge match against USA although the Indians would be aware that the Americans have the coveted ticket and any wins now will only be a reminder of what they have missed.

Schopman insisted she was happy with the team’s performance in Ranchi – unlike Hangzhou – but admitted the need for a re-look. “As a team we are still hurting, it’s been a tough two weeks. We want to show we are a good team. We know we won’t get the Olympics back and can only move forward and that’s our plan here. I believe women’s hockey can have a very bright future and India can be a top-5 country consistently but things have to change, they have to be better at many levels. I have discussed this with the team also and with Hockey India, SAI and others responsible,” she said.

The team will have experienced Vandana Katariya back, as the vice-captain, and the veteran admitted it was difficult to see the team miss out from outside.

“When I got injured at such a crucial moment, we were not sure how bad it was. But seeing from outside, the team played well. Everyone is sad, of course, but we are recovering slowly and hope to play good hockey here,” she hoped. 

Schopman didn’t drop names but gave enough indications that there were players under watch. “We now need to look at individual players and I need players to take accountability to bring their own best self to every game. That doesn’t mean you have to score, it means you have to show you want to play for India. I think we can score goals and defend well but we are playing some really good teams here so it will be interesting to see what happens and how it happens,” she explained.

Asked about not converting chances, Schopman was candid. “It also has to do with individual and team mindset. If there are players who feel they have to score, that’s unhelpful. We have to score as a team and also execute our skills as individuals. We do need more depth in our PC scoring, that is a concern. All other top-10 teams have 5-6 drag-flickers, so there’s work to be done in terms of talent development there,” she said.