Bengaluru: It’s been a decade and six years since the Indian women’s hockey team last won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Gold, in this multi-sport event, has never been a guarantee for India. So, on Wednesday, when the squad was announced for the 21st Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia, coach Harendra Singh was asked of the target he’s set for his team at the event.
“I want to scale the Everest, not K2 or Kanchenjunga,” he replied, sitting with the team captain Rani Rampal in a room at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus here.
“Everest” is what Harendra had in sights when he took over as the women’s team coach. “Until I think of Mt Everest, I won’t be able to climb Kanchenjunga,” he’d said ahead of his new job after guiding the junior men’s team to a historic World Cup title.
“Everest”, albeit a tall order, doesn’t seem like an impossible climb for Rani and company. For, they have been on the process of taking Indian women’s hockey to highs it has never seen. Last year, they won the Asia Cup beating China in the final.
A 3-1 win over South Korea in their backyard has boosted the team’s morale. The manner of victories against the higher-ranked opponents (India is ranked below the ninth-ranked South Korea) has pleased the coach.
“The girls understood the pressure of playing away games. We played in a few pockets and the transition between midfield to forward line has been good. The counter was swift and they showed mettle against the Korean team,” he said.
“One thing about our Korean tour, the team never stopped attacking. Even when we were down, we never gave up. You could see that we scored in the deep in four matches, which shows the attacking intent we have. We lost one match after conceding. But we want to continue the same way by attacking. We have to score goals and not just play in the game.”
The return of Poonam Rani in the forward line and Deepika in the defence after their injury layoffs, the coach said, bolstered the Indian unit in South Korea.
“Deepika scored a great penalty corner and Poonam was fantastic in the second post. Both of them inspire others and give moral boost for the players,” he said. “Usually, the mindset of a player goes negative after suffering an injury. Seeing both of them perform, that must have been erased in the minds of others.”
As Harendra acknowledged, 2018 could be a watershed year for Indian women’s hockey. For his team, the goal is to win gold in the Asian Games in August and earn an Olympic berth. But en route, there are two other big events – the CWG and the Women’s Hockey World Cup (in July-August) – that will test the team’s mettle.
The talent is present, the confidence is high, and ready they are to upset the bigger teams at the Commonwealth Games. For Harendra, to get gold is a great climb and he said, “whoever has the most oxygen at the end of the tournament, they will emerge the champions.”
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