Indian Women Hockey Coach Harendra Singh interview : A look at challenges, road ahead and about potential of deepika and manisha
In an interview with the IndiaSportsHub , Indian women’s hockey coach Harendra Singh speaks about the disappointment of Paris snub , redemption in Rajgir and probable glory in 2028.
Indulged as an expert at the HIL , he also spoke about the prospects of HIL which has made a comeback after years.
IndiaSportsHub | Exciting times for Indian hockey with the HIL making its comeback in a grander way,How do you see this tournament and its prospective role in scouting talents and making Indian hockey the powerhouse of world hockey?
Harendra Singh “Its not only for Indian hockey but exciting times for world hockey as per the messages I am receiving from social media world wide , in terms of quality of match and financial stability and long term prospect Indian hockey has always benefitted from HIL with young players being able to play and share dressing room with foreign players and coaches.
The young players get to know the foreign players better and realise they are no super-humans but humans like us, which develops their confidence and skill level.
There is lot of buzz regarding the HIL which is taking place after 7 years, the players feel too that this is a golden period of Indian hockey with back to back olympics medals and the HIL will take it further
IndiaSportsHub: Now let us shift our focus to women’s hockey! how disappointing was it not to qualify for Paris after the glorious semi final spot of 2020 games? What might have gone wrong and what needs to improve?
Harendra Singh : Mistakes did happen so we didn’t qualify, I would not like to ponder on that again, we have already done a lot of that.
My total focus is that in 2028 it will be 100 years since India won an olympic medal, I want the women’s team to create history in 2028 everyone has been waiting for. I feel we definitely can bring one medal in 2028, wont predict the colour of medal though.
There are a lot of other tournaments too asian games, world cup; our first target is to qualify for world cup semis and bring a medal to develop the confidence. Of course there is Pro league too, this is a 4 year cycle we have identified and I have been given time for to build coordination in the team and develop the team.
Modern hockey is all about high speed running, fitness strength and power which lacked in our team.
The good thing is that the girls accept the mistakes and where we are lacking and they have learnt a lot to not repeat the mistakes.
Our total focus is on world cup, asian games and olympics.
IndiaSportsHub : Do you see the Asian Champions Trophy triumph in front of home crowd in Bihar as a redemption to the Paris snub? How surreal did it feel?
Harendra Singh : Yes it was important after olympic disqualification and injury affected second leg of PRO league losing 7 out of 8 matches.
There was a fire in the girls, they took the asian champions trophy as the starting point of the next olympic cycle.
We also got to know about areas where we need improvement for instance penalty corners where I expected 24 to 25 percent conversion.
I think Deepika and Manisha are ready for the bigger league and playing in the HIL will give them more confidence.
IndiaSportsHub: Lately Indian Women’s team has seen the arrival of many young girls like Salima, Sunelita, Deepika ,Manisha. How do you see their career prospects and your role in shaping it and making them household names?
Harendra Singh : I believe when we talk of development of players we should mean holistic development which also includes how you carry yourself, how you speak in public etc.
The girls have understood that its not only the skills but overall development is required. When you talk of these girls they have hunger within them.
They were a part of the core group who have seen what all they have lost and now want to lose no more. They are eager to learn which is the best thing for a coach, they regularly keep asking what to do in what situations.
I am also teaching them its not only hockey but it’s a part of life. When you are a star your role and responsibility changes not only for yourself but for the team, family and whole country.
IndiaSportsHub: Lastly where do you see Indian Women Hockey standing in terms of world hockey?Can we dare to dream of achieving the same heights in women hockey as we have lately seen in men’s hockey?
Harendra Singh : Look it’s a process, currently we are ranked 9th, I feel we should be in top 6 by 2026 then top 4 and then we may aim for olympics medal. By world cup we should be able to qualify for semis and aim for a medal.
This is not only mine but the teams dream to climb the ladder and we are working on it step by step.
