CHENNAI: After falling agonisingly short of a podium finish in Tokyo, where Great Britain went past them to secure the bronze, the Indian team dusted themselves off to bag a bronze medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and won the Asian Champions Trophy in 2023. However, their biggest challenge awaits them in Ranchi starting from January 13, where they hope to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after missing out on the direct berth via the Hangzhou Games.
Knowing the top three teams out of eight competing in the January 13-19 tournament will qualify for the marquee event in France, India has the task cut out for them with the likes of the USA, Italy, and New Zealand in their group. With this being their final chance to qualify for the Olympics, head coach Janneke Schopman wants her team to forget their so close yet so far finish in the Asian Games and concentrate on what is to come.
"We did not qualify for the Olympics from the Asian Games and we know it was a missed opportunity. But we don't dwell on the past," Schopman said at the pre-tournament press conference. "We are hoping to do well in this tournament. We need to be better (than before) and if we play to our best, we can qualify for the Olympics (from here)," she added. "We would love to be part of the Olympics, but we know we have to qualify for it first and it depends on how well we play in this particular tournament. We have worked our best in the lead-up to the tournament and now the focus is on ourselves," captain Savita Punia echoed the sentiments.
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India will miss one of their most experienced player and vice-captain, Vandana Katariya, in the tournament as she was ruled out just nine days before the event after fracturing her cheekbone during a training session. In her absence, Nikki Pradhan has been named deputy, while young Baljeet Kaur has been added to the squad. In the absence of the only player with more than 300 caps, India's first challenge against the USA, the team they beat to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, might look like an uphill task, but the head coach has her team well prepared.
"USA is a threat. We have played against them earlier, though the past or the rankings do not matter much. We are a good side, we want to play good hockey and we are ready for the tournament," she said. India will then lock horns with New Zealand, currently ranked 9th in the world, and then close out the group stage with a fixture against Italy on January 16. And Schopman expects her team to follow the simple formula to come on top in Ranchi. "We want to play according to our principles and foundation. Our game plan is to understand the situation and make the right decisions according to the needs of the game at that particular point."
Despite winning the Asian Champions Trophy at the same venue in November 2023, India could not convert a lot of their penalty corner opportunities into goals throughout the Asian Games. To deal with those issues, the women's team has practiced under Rupinder Pal Singh and Schopman believes it was vital for her players to hone their skills under his guidance. "Rupinder has the expertise as he is an experienced player. He knows the pressure on the top of 'D'. It was a great help for the likes of Gurjit Kaur and Deepika to fine-tune their skills. I am very happy with that," the confident coach mentioned.
After failing to book the direct berth, the women's team has one final chance to qualify for the Olympics for a third time in as many editions. Only time will tell if they can grab this chance.
