Hangzhou: Under fire after their Asian Games gold medal hopes went up in smoke, Indian women’s hockey team chief coach Janneke Schopman rued not playing the top-tier FIH Pro League last season but said they tried their best to make the most of what they had on their platter.
Last edition’s silver medallist India, the highest-ranked team in the tournament at world number seven, Thursday suffered a 0-4 drubbing in the semifinal at the hands of world number 10 China, who were the bronze medallist in the 2018 edition in Jakarta.
The result also meant that India’s direct entry into the 2024 Paris Olympics went up in smoke.
“We made the most of what we had. When we entered this tournament, we were ready,” Schopman said when asked about India’s preparation for the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games.
“At the moment, I would say there is a huge difference between China and India in terms of games played in the last six months. That’s an easy one at least. But we knew we weren’t in (Women’s FIH Hockey) Pro League so we made the most of what we had.”
China played in the women’s FIH Pro League 2022-23, which gave them the chance to play against the best in the world, while India did not feature.
Schopman admitted that her side could have done things differently against China but said she would analyse the performance later.
“In hindsight, we can always say there are things that could have been different. But I would have to reflect in depth to make a decision on that,” said the Dutchwoman.
She, however, admitted that her side did not play hockey they are known for till they were 0-2 down.
“We started playing after China took 2-0 lead and we got opportunities to get close. But we didn’t play at the start and that’s unfortunate. It was only after we went behind in the game that we finally started playing hockey,” Schopman said.
“It was also unlucky that the penalty corner deflection from our first runner went in. It is a problem that too many penalty corners were given against us.”
She said she will find out answers to the heavy defeat.
“If we could put up a performance in the third or fourth quarter, then it had nothing to do with the actual performance and the actual ability of the team to play hockey.
“We have shown that in the last year, otherwise we would not be ranked where we are. About our performance today (Thursday), I don’t have the answer yet, but I think it is fair to the players that I share that with them first,” Schopman said.
India will play Japan in the bronze medal match Saturday.
PTI