Hockey: ‘Not blaming players' Disheartened about relegation from Pro League, but India coach Harendra Singh lists areas to improve for Asia Cup

Indian Express

2 days ago

The high of finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago seems to be in the distant past for Indian women's hockey team. The first major setback came in January last year, as they failed to even qualify for the Paris Olympics. A year and a half later, they have finished last in the 2024-'25 edition of FIH Pro League, which sees them getting relegated out of the top international tournament outside the World Cups and Olympics. The present is distressing, and the future outlook isn't great – especially with the rapid rise of China that potentially makes even Asian success tough.
But coach Harendra Singh isn't ready to concede that things are looking bleak for his team. 'I think we are disheartened that we are out of the Pro League. But I am not in pain,' he said on Wednesday during a media roundtable. Harendra's confidence in his young team to bounce back is rooted in the belief that the results were poor, but the performances weren't.
'We have closed the gap with the top teams. Except for two games, Argentina's first game and China's first game, the rest of the matches, I think we were very competitive,' Harendra said after India lost seven out of the eight matches in Europe outright. 'I am not blaming my players. We struggled in defence because Nikki Pradhan (hamstring), Udita (hamstring) and Sushila Chanu (torn ACL) were injured before going to the Pro League. They are three dependable defenders, so we were handicapped. We had to move two midfielders, Jyoti Singh and Vaishnavi, into defence. It was a major shift. We conceded more than 50 PCs, and we conceded from 35% of those, which is not something I expect.'
The other heavy defeat (1-5) on the tour was against Belgium where the team was put under immense defensive pressure despite taking the lead, but Harendra attributed that to a one-match suspension of Baljeet and an early hamstring injury for Ishika Chaudhary that meant the team were reduced to 14 outfield players for a majority of the match.
Relegation from the Pro League means that India's calendar is going to be affected going forward. Former coach Sjoerd Marijne, who was in charge of the team's dream run in Tokyo, is concerned. 'Staying in the Pro League is very important,' Marijne told The Indian Express. 'Like in my time, we didn't have a lot of international matches. The federation had to organize them themselves. We had some tours, but it was always a big struggle. With the Pro League, you have international matches and you can try out things. You can bring in new players. You have a bigger squad that you can use. For the development of players, it's extremely important. Every time your team is learning to play against the best and that works better than just training.'
Marijne added that India should have started their next Olympics programme last January when they missed out on Paris, and should have had a headstart over other teams that are rebuilding, but he hasn't seen India take that step.
Harendra, however, sees a silver lining. 'Now we have to reset ourselves. If we are only playing the Pro League against the top teams, and if you lose again and again, you lose confidence too. Now rebuild the confidence, reset, and for one year, we can play with teams ranked below us and build the habit of winning. We have also identified some of the top teams, where we will go and play teams like Belgium, Germany, and Holland, at least four times. That way we get 12-13 matches from them, too. We have to balance that.'
Moving forward, the key areas that Harendra has identified are: not conceding soft Penalty Corners (and not conceding a goal if they do give away a PC), game management skills, time management and decision-making in attacking areas. Harendra said a Bengaluru firm – Behavioural Foresight – has been hired to work regularly in this regard.
'Anxiety sometimes helps, but too much anxiety puts you on the negative path. The mistakes and the failures are a learning experience for these girls, and we want to support them for that. Don't hesitate to make the decision, whether it's going wrong or right. Till you not take the decision, who is going to decide it's the right decision or wrong? That's where there is hesitation and then you make more mistakes.'
India's forward line too was short of experience, and Sangita Kumari's injury was felt keenly. Harendra felt that his team's circle penetrations have been high in number but the volume hasn't necessarily translated to quality chances. 'In the six-week camp, we will work on the body position of the strikers. Why are we creating a lot of chances but not scoring? The first touch, if you get it right, take a shot on goal. Don't wait for someone else. We need to increase the shots on goal.'