Indian hockey is on a roll. Close on the heels of the Asia Cup triumph by the men, comes the good news of the Indian women's hockey team also winning the same title after a gap of 13 years. By beating China 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out in the finals, our girls have secured a direct entry into the Women's Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held in London next year. And with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games also taking place in 2018, the Indian women's hockey team has their hands full.
By a coincidence, the Indian women's team had won the Asian Champions Trophy on November 5 in Singapore last year by beating China 2-1 in a fast paced final.
As media reports suggest, a large chunk of the credit for this latest triumph needs to be given to new coach, Harendra. The former India hockey player, Harendra is the coach with the Midas touch. He coached the Indian men's junior team to a World Cup title in 2016 and has now led the Indian women's team to a Asia Cup title, a few months after taking over the reins.
The women's hockey team had finished an abysmal eighth out of ten teams in the World Hockey League semi-finals in South Africa in July this year. In an interview to the Indian Express, team skipper Rani Rampal said that they were ashamed of their performance in South Africa and resolved to begin winning tournaments again.
Harendra immediately began by changing the mind-set of the women players. He made the players believe that they could win. "Winning is a habit. I told the girls that we will not go to any tournament to merely participate. I want a medal from every tournament," Harendra told the Indian Express.
Coach Harendra also worked on the physical and tactical aspects of the game and honed the penalty corner skills of the team. According to skipper Rani, the team worked very hard on penalty corner conversions, an aspect which held them in very good stead in the Asia Cup tournament. This training helped them beat back stronger teams like South Korea, Japan and China in this edition of the Asia Cup.
In an interview with this columnist last year, Naaz Shah, former India hockey Olympian had said, "I feel modern hockey has become very technical and therefore understanding the tactical part is very crucial to winning. Hockey is no longer only a physical game. Mental strength has now become crucial,"
It clearly appears that Coach Harendra has addressed the very point that Naaz was making last year.
The changed mind-set was on display in the Asia Cup finals. The Indian team mounted attacks on the Chinese goal from the word go. Forward Navjot almost scored a field goal in the 17th minute.
A few minutes later, Navneet Kaur combined with Rani to penetrate the circle, allowing Navjot to score from a clear shot. China went all out in search of the equaliser but could not penetrate the Indian defence. The final quarter was a tense affair. China won a penalty corner and Tiantian Luo equalised for her team.
In the penalty shoot-out that ensued, Indian goalkeeper Savita starred once again by warding off a Chinese attempt and skipper Rani scored the winner for India. Savita had successfully executed several saves during regulation time too, earning the ‘Goalkeeper of the tournament' title.
However, success is not new to the Indian women's hockey team. In the not-so- distant past, the Suraj Lata Devi led India team won three, consecutive gold medals in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup earning the sobriquet of ‘Golden Girls of Hockey'.
The gold medal in the 2002 CWG was significant considering that our girls beat the mighty Australians in the semi-finals and beat England in the finals of a very memorable tournament. This success even inspired the making of the popular Bollywood film---‘Chak De India' starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film based on Indian women's hockey caught the fancy of the nation with its very hummable signature tune--- ‘Chak de India' becoming a national rallying call.
With the latest triumph, the Indian women's hockey team must continue to ‘chak de' their way ahead!
By a coincidence, the Indian women's team had won the Asian Champions Trophy on November 5 in Singapore last year by beating China 2-1 in a fast paced final.
As media reports suggest, a large chunk of the credit for this latest triumph needs to be given to new coach, Harendra. The former India hockey player, Harendra is the coach with the Midas touch. He coached the Indian men's junior team to a World Cup title in 2016 and has now led the Indian women's team to a Asia Cup title, a few months after taking over the reins.
The women's hockey team had finished an abysmal eighth out of ten teams in the World Hockey League semi-finals in South Africa in July this year. In an interview to the Indian Express, team skipper Rani Rampal said that they were ashamed of their performance in South Africa and resolved to begin winning tournaments again.
Harendra immediately began by changing the mind-set of the women players. He made the players believe that they could win. "Winning is a habit. I told the girls that we will not go to any tournament to merely participate. I want a medal from every tournament," Harendra told the Indian Express.
Coach Harendra also worked on the physical and tactical aspects of the game and honed the penalty corner skills of the team. According to skipper Rani, the team worked very hard on penalty corner conversions, an aspect which held them in very good stead in the Asia Cup tournament. This training helped them beat back stronger teams like South Korea, Japan and China in this edition of the Asia Cup.
In an interview with this columnist last year, Naaz Shah, former India hockey Olympian had said, "I feel modern hockey has become very technical and therefore understanding the tactical part is very crucial to winning. Hockey is no longer only a physical game. Mental strength has now become crucial,"
It clearly appears that Coach Harendra has addressed the very point that Naaz was making last year.
The changed mind-set was on display in the Asia Cup finals. The Indian team mounted attacks on the Chinese goal from the word go. Forward Navjot almost scored a field goal in the 17th minute.
A few minutes later, Navneet Kaur combined with Rani to penetrate the circle, allowing Navjot to score from a clear shot. China went all out in search of the equaliser but could not penetrate the Indian defence. The final quarter was a tense affair. China won a penalty corner and Tiantian Luo equalised for her team.
In the penalty shoot-out that ensued, Indian goalkeeper Savita starred once again by warding off a Chinese attempt and skipper Rani scored the winner for India. Savita had successfully executed several saves during regulation time too, earning the ‘Goalkeeper of the tournament' title.
However, success is not new to the Indian women's hockey team. In the not-so- distant past, the Suraj Lata Devi led India team won three, consecutive gold medals in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup earning the sobriquet of ‘Golden Girls of Hockey'.
The gold medal in the 2002 CWG was significant considering that our girls beat the mighty Australians in the semi-finals and beat England in the finals of a very memorable tournament. This success even inspired the making of the popular Bollywood film---‘Chak De India' starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film based on Indian women's hockey caught the fancy of the nation with its very hummable signature tune--- ‘Chak de India' becoming a national rallying call.
With the latest triumph, the Indian women's hockey team must continue to ‘chak de' their way ahead!
