Coach Satinder Pal Singh Walia Recalls India’s Maiden 2001 Junior Women World Cup Campaign
India made its debut in the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup at the 4th edition held at Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2001. The Indian junior women finished 9th among 16 participating teams, but that can hardly reflect the fight exuded by the Mamta Kharab-captained Indian outfit.
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Pitted in Pool A, India junior hockey eves went down to defending champions Netherlands by a solitary goal in their first game, followed by a solid 2-0 win over the USA and a goalless draw against New Zealand in their final Pool encounter. “Indian girls played really well against the Netherlands. We missed three sitters, one of which blazed the crossbar and sailed out. We conceded a first-half goal and had our chances but could not profit from them. Had we made the most of our opportunities we could have beaten the Dutch,” recalls India’s 2001 Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup chief coach Satinderpal Singh Walia in an exclusive interview to Hockey Passion.
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The 76-year-old highly reputed coach, who is now based in Pune, believes the drawn game against New Zealand cost the team dearly. “New Zealand was a strong team we had to content with. It was because of this draw India could not enter the medal round. If we had entered the medal round, we would have managed a podium finish,” he says with dollops of confidence.
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Walia, a former international goalkeeper and widely respected hockey umpire, recalls how the Indian forwardline came good in Buenos Aires. “Adeline Kerketta was in great form in the 2001 Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup – barring that Netherlands game she literally scored in every match and was the second highest goal-scorer of the tourney with 7 goals. The likes of Saba Anjum, Sanggai Chanu, Papki Devi and Mamta Kharab fired in unison – no wonder we scored 21 goals in the tournament,” quips Walia, who was barely able to hide the joy of turning the clock back.
The chief coach of the 2001 Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup throws light on how disciplined the Indian defence was in that edition. “We conceded just 2 goals in seven matches. Pushpa Pradhan and Suman Bala manned the Indian deep defence well and were ably supported by Nilima Kujur and Subhadra Pradhan,” he fires a parting shot.
Fantastic nostalgic piece! If I remember correctly the Junior camp was held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai and I had the pleasure of witnessing the coaching style of coach Walia. Friendly and firm, the beareded giant used to give personal attention to every player. Mamta Kharb and the Manipuri duo flamboyant Saggai Chanu and Pakpi were already upcoming stars while Saba Anjum, was the baby of the team. Dimunitive and fast, she used to speed like a superfast machine even in three on one situations. In the first week, Pradhan injured her hand but quickly recovered. All the Odiya girls used to be silent and simple. Being heavy rice eaters, I remember Walia saab getting extra rice packets, paying from his pocket from the South Indian Udupi hotel nearby. With water shortage and heat in chennai, many tankers were purchased to water the turf. That one goal we missed in the Dutch match ten minutes before th hooter, if I remember correctly, is when we missed the medal. It would have been historic and even today my heart melts for all the hard work the coach and the juniors put in for 40 days in the Chennai heat.
Thanks David for your kind thoughts!