Asian Champions Trophy: Indian Hockey Eves Exude Hope for Bigger Battles Ahead!
The year 2024 hasn’t been a great one for the Indian women hockey team – they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics and that set off a losing streak of eight international matches – the national side under newly-installed coach Harendra Singh clearly had his task cut out – India needed to set their chaos house in order – they first halted their eight-match losing streak and subsequently, grew in stature in the 8th Asian Champions Trophy at Rajgir, ensuring they atoned for a pretty disappointing year (uninspired performances at the Olympic Qualifiers and Pro League).
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They went into the 8th Asian Champions Trophy with an eight-match losing streak and rounded off the same tourney with a seven-match winning streak that shows how hockey can be a great leveller. Granted, the likes of Olympic silver medallists China and Japan did not field their full strength sides (only a few players from their Paris Olympic squads played at Rajgir) Does it dilute the importance of the Indian women cornering glory at the 8th Asian Champions Trophy? Of course not, because a win is a win and a tourney win is a tourney win, and the stats book would say that and not whether any side came with their first-choice sides or second-string sides.
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The Indian eves deserves all the adulation for the way they played throughout the tournament. Having said that, Indian eves must guard against complacency and factor in that teams like China and Japan have such talent depth – they must not lose sight of the fact that China and Japan was able to push their limits even without first-choice sides.
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Indian women would need to take their improvement areas to the next level when they clash with their full-strength sides at Asian Games, Pro League or any other tournament. The Indian eves were put on a strong footing in the 8th Asian Champions Trophy by Deepika Sehrawat, who made it a memorable tourney for her. The 21-year-old Hisar girl was not just clinical in scoring open play goals and drag-flick goals, but also in creating goal-scoring opportunities. Her five-goal blitz against Thailand made all other teams wary of her – we saw how Japan, China and to some extent, South Korea, deployed more than one marker for Deepika – it shows what a big impact player she has emerged.
The biggest gain from the Indian women team’s perspective is how the youngsters really came into their own. It is not only Deepika – she probably draw more attention because she ends up scoring goals – scorers are always eyeballs-grabber. The likes of Maharashtra girl Vishnavi Vitthal Phalke and Madhya Pradesh’s Ishika Chaudhary are not seasoned campaigners, but the duo appeared ready for the big league – the manner in which they maintained consistency in the deep defence augurs well for the future. Vastly experienced Manipuri Sushila Chanu, who is making a return after a long injury lay-off did a neat job in the deep defence – provided she stays injury-free, she has a lot to offer to the deep defence.
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17-year-old Odisha girl Sunelita Toppo is an exciting prospect for the future – there is a reason why she is the national team at the age of 17 – rated very highly in domestic hockey, Sunelita has shown that she has great game awareness – her superb stickwork and silky runs are a treat to watch.
Comeback girl Preeti Dubey truly justified her inclusion in the side, manning the forwardline admirably – the Jharkhand duo of Sangita Kumari and Beauty Dungdung also had a fantastic tournament. The youngsters really coming to the party must be exceedingly heartening for coach Harendra Singh. All these girls are in the age bracket of 17-24, and with more international games, the sky is the limit for them.
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Goalie Bichu Devi Kharibam is another one who has shown that she can seamlessly take over goalkeeping duties from veteran and former Indian captain Savita. On so many occasions, Bichu gave out the feeling that she had matured and is ready to shoulder more responsibility. Skipper Salima Tete also infused exemplary leadership, spending lengthy periods on the turf in most games, and her robust presence was always unsettling for the opponents.
However, the two ‘N’s – Navneet Kaur and Neha Goyal – appeared far from their best – at 28, they are the senior members of the side besides Savita and Sushila Chanu – one is not sure if they are passed their prime but they clearly looked a pale shadow of themselves. Navneet sounded slow in her movements – she was frequently guilty of easily losing possession and indulged in bouts of misspassing consistently. More importantly, Navneet struggled even as her more younger team-mates dazzled. The ploy of going with Navneet for short corner hits did not quite work as she messed up several opportunities.
Neha’s presence in the tournament was hardly felt – she seemed to be going through the motions and when a team win a tournament the poor performances of Navneet and Neha often get buried under the avalanche of joy and public adulation. Sharmila Devi, who made a comeback during the India leg of the Pro League, has to really pull up her socks. Her non-impactful performance upfront is not good for her cause – with talented Mumtaz Khan sitting out, and the way Sangita, Deepika Beauty, and Sunelita are shaping up, she has to work really hard to hold on to her spot in the future international engagements.
Indian women must savour the Asian Champions Trophy triumph but take care not to press the complacency button. The team need to raise the improvement bar and came out with eye-popping performances in the upcoming Pro League.
