Perspective: Harendra says the relegation may be taken as a ‘blessing in disguise’ as the team can play lower-ranked sides to get back to winning ways.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY
The beleaguered Indian women’s hockey team found itself demoted from the top-tier Pro League, and chief coach Harendra Singh admitted that the players need to improve their game and time management to get better results.
India lost all its games in Europe and finished last on the table. Harendra blamed the absence of several senior players due to injury and the inexperience of the squad for the results. However, he insisted that barring a few areas of concern, the team was on the right track.
“Yes, we are disheartened, but I am not in pain because we have closed the gap with most of the top teams. I think we were very competitive. Three of our most dependable defenders – Nikki Pradhan, Udita and Susheela Chanu – got injured just before leaving. We had to move players around and play midfielders Jyoti Singh and Vaishnavi Phalke in the defence,” Harendra said in a media interaction on Wednesday.
“We conceded soft penalty corners; [conceding] 52 PCs is very high, and 35% of those resulted in goals. That was a major difference. The rest, I think we were much closer skill-wise, fitness-wise and in the kind of hockey we wanted to play. We have a young team and they will get better with experience,” Harendra emphasised.
Elaborating on the specific areas to work on in the next six weeks ahead of the crucial Asia Cup in China, Harendra repeatedly stressed on game and time management and avoiding conceding PCs.
“We have identified four major areas to work on. First, game management; if we enter the opponent’s circle 52 times, we expect at least a minimum of 24-27 shots at the goal. More shots mean more chances of scoring. Second, time management; being aware of the timing and scoreboard when we are close to winning. Like against Australia, there were seconds left, and we gave away a soft PC and the goal.
“Third, decision making both in attack and defence. Fourth, conceding soft PCs and goals. But I feel once these three players are back, that area will be taken care of. We are going to invest more time in PC defending,” he explained.
“Maybe this is a blessing in disguise; we can reset ourselves. If you keep losing, you lose confidence, too. Now we can rebuild, play against lower-ranked sides to get back to winning and balance with matches against top sides,” he added.
Published – July 09, 2025 06:33 pm IST
