FIH Women’s Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: India has enough options for Penalty Corners, says coach Schopman

India’s hopes of finishing in the top three in the eight-team FIH Women’s Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, which begin in Ranchi on Saturday, to book its ticket for the Summer Games in Paris, will largely depend on one major aspect of the sport – the Penalty Corner (PC) conversion.

The Savita Punia-led side earned a total of 104 PCs across 13 games in the Asian Games and the Asian Champions Trophy last year but could only convert 25 of them into goals.

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Despite experienced drag-flickers such as Gurjit Kaur and Deep Grace Ekka not being selected and Vandana Katariya being ruled out due to a last-minute injury, coach Janneke Schopman feels that the team has enough options to take care of the business from the top of the circle.

“Of course, Grace has a very good PC. Gurjit has a very good drag flick. We have some other options. Udita is developing her skill from the top of the circle. We have Neha and Navneet (Kaur) who are a good threat. Salima (Tete) is a backup option as well, who has a very good slap shot and then, we have Deepika who has a very good drag flick,” said Schopman during a pre-tournament press conference on Thursday.

“She’s [Deepika] a young player but her drag flick’s threat is something that even the coaches from other teams in Spain (during the recent Five Nations tournament in Valencia) said that we still have a very good drag flicker,” she added.

The team also had renowned drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh to assist the players during a five-day drag flicking camp at SAI Bengaluru in December last year.

“We’re always looking to improve and the penalty corner is still an important part of the game. Rupinder is a very experienced and good drag-flicker. If you have the expertise in your own country, we can only ask, and luckily he made some time for us.

He also knows what it is to be at the top of the circle and knows the pressure of ‘I have to put this ball in the goal, ideally’”, said Schopman, the 46-year-old Dutchwoman.

While the conditions are much colder than when the team won the Asian Champions Trophy at the same venue – Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Stadium – in November, Savita feels that getting used to that atmosphere is going to help the team.

“When we were playing the Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi, even then we were talking about the qualifiers. It was a great chance for us to play in front of the same crowd and under that kind of pressure but this is a different tournament and when it comes to [the] Olympics, there is nothing bigger than that,” said Savita, who recently won a third consecutive FIH Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year Award.

When asked about the mental preparation to handle the pressure of the expectations, especially after finishing fourth at the last Olympics in Tokyo, Schopman confirmed that the mental conditioning coach Peter Harberl joined the team on Wednesday.

“Pete is here right now. He arrived last morning. Of course, he was here during the Asian Champions Trophy. In the meantime, I have been in touch with him,” she said.

“A lot of the girls have also been meeting him online. There’s three-four players working consistently with him. When the girls know they can always reach out to him, it’s great. He’s meeting with all the players individually before the start of the tournament. He had a meeting yesterday. He knows what pressure is, he wants to help us and it’s good we have him,” she added.

India opens its campaign in Group B against USA on Saturday before facing New Zealand on Sunday and Italy on Tuesday. Group A comprises Germany, Japan, Chile and the Czech Republic.

Top two teams from each group will progress to the semifinals. While the teams that reach the summit clash will automatically book a spot for the main event in Paris, the losing semifinalists will take on each other in a playoff to clinch the third and final spot.