Failure to qualify for Paris Olympics poses plenty of questions for Indian women’s hockey

Indian women’s hockey team’s hopes of qualifying for a third straight edition of the Olympics were dashed in front of the home crowd in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, held from January 13 to 19 in Ranchi.

The Savita Punia-led side could only finish fourth in the eight-team event where the top three were guaranteed a spot for Paris 2024.

India entered the tournament without three experienced players – Deep Grace Ekka (Defender), Sushila Chanu (Midfielder) and Vandana Katariya (forward).

While Sushila, India’s captain at Rio Olympics, and Vandana missed out on making the squad due to injuries, Deep’s absence was mysterious. When asked in the pre-tournament press conference, coach Janneke Schopman could only say, “Only Deep can tell why she is not here.”

Still, factors such as playing at the same venue – Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf Stadium – where the team won the Asian Champions Trophy in November last year, and being the second-highest ranked side behind Germany in the tournament were expected to give enough confidence to the side to finish in the top three. The stars had aligned.

However, it wasn’t to be.

The host got off to a disastrous start as it lost 1-0 to USA in its Group B opener. The players started nervously, made basic errors and conceded an early goal. Despite earning seven Penalty Corners, India could not find the equaliser.

From there on, Schopman’s team had to treat almost every match as a virtual final and it played like that.

In a must-win second Group B match against New Zealand, India took the lead inside 40 seconds with Salima Tete setting up the goal for fellow local player Sangita Kumari. While the Black Sticks did level the score, India kept its foot on the pedal and took a 3-1 lead as the first quarter finished. The team never relinquished that advantage and brought its campaign back on track.

With USA beating New Zealand 1-0 to clinch the top spot in Group B, India only needed a draw against Italy to finish second and progress to the semifinals. Just like the previous encounter, the women in blue made a blistering start as Udita converted a PC in the opening minute. The host eventually wrapped up a convincing 5-1 win.

From Group A, Germany and Japan finished first and second, respectively ahead of Chile and Czechia.

READ | FIH Women’s Olympic Qualifiers: What lies ahead for those who did not qualify?

India had to face Germany in the semifinals with the winner confirming its berth for the Summer Games. Die Danas were the pre-match favourites but it was the host team that made the first blow in the match played in hazy conditions with the temperature around 12-13 degrees Celsius.

Deepika converted a PC in the 15th minute to put India ahead. However, lapses in concentration from the Indian defence not only allowed Charlotte Stapenhorst to equalise 12 minutes later but it even paved the way for her to giving Germany the lead with three minutes remaining.

Ishika Chaudhary brought India back in the game after deflecting a rebound off India’s third PC in the 59th minute and the host team managed to take the fixture to a penalty shootout, giving itself a genuine chance of a win.

Valentin Altenburg’s side came back from 1-2 down to win 4-3 in sudden death in the shootout with Lisa Notle nutmegging Savita to take Germany over the line. While not as dramatic as this, USA too had come from behind to defeat Japan 2-1 in the first semifinal.

The bronze medal match between India and Japan was also set to decide who would join China, the Asian Games gold medallist, in Paris as the only other Asian team.

The after-effects of that devastating loss to Germany could be felt as India turned up in less than 24 hours for its do-or-die game against Japan and failed to start on the right note.

Japan had lost its last three matches against India but on January 19, when it mattered, it played a tactically solid game – using the aerial balls to break the Indian press and forcing the opponents to go for inconsequential runs on the flank.

Kana Urata scored the all-important goal in the sixth minute and then, the Japanese defence, despite conceding nine PCs, stood like a wall. Coached by former Indian goalkeeper Jude Menezes, Japan eventually shut the door to the Olympics for India.

The campaign is a crushing blow after the high of fourth-place finish at Tokyo Olympics three years ago and leaves plenty of questions to be answered.

What does the future hold for coach Schopman now? Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey told Sportstar that the federation has no major concerns about the 46-year-old Dutchwoman but will look at the plans and talk to everyone concerned.

Where is India’s next batch of drag flickers and players it can rely on when it comes to converting PCs in clutch situations? While the likes of Deepika and Udita did impress, whether they can succeed experienced players such as Gurjit Kaur and Katariya remains to be seen.

Is it time for the players to get some exposure from playing league hockey abroad? The likes of Dhanraj Pillay and Tirkey have done it. Playing as an overseas player in such tournaments brings another level of pressure and expectations which can be useful at the international level.

The new Olympic cycle for India starts with the FIH Pro League matches in February and the preparation for Los Angeles 2028 needs to start as quickly as possible.