Perhaps for the first time in many years, both Indian sides – the men’s and the women’s – will start as favourites at the Asian Games. For both sides are ranked higher than their opponents and performed well in their last two major tournaments. The women’s team (ranked ninth), earlier this month, accomplished what their predecessors couldn’t for four decades: make it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. And, the men’s team, fifth in the world, narrowly missed winning the Champions Trophy last month after going down 1-3 to Australia in a thrilling shootout.
So, there’s a good chance that two of the many gold medals that the country expects from its 572-member contingent will be won by the hockey teams.
‘Nothing less than a gold’
“We can’t think of anything less than a gold. It is not acceptable,” the men’s team coach Harendra Singh said before departing to Jakarta for the quadrennial event.
There’s been a fillip to the side since he became the coach after the no-medal show at the Commonwealth Games. In the Champions Trophy, his men – with their relentless physical game and heavy-duty defence – withstood attacks from teams that were ranked higher and wore down those who couldn’t keep up with their pace.
From the heartbreak of the final, they soon moved on. When the Kiwis called on them last month, they won all three games with ease. That they could afford to test their bench strength and experiment a few strategies evidenced their comfort in dealing with New Zealand, a team that’s among the top-10 in the world.
The Test series’ result would have definitely helped the team’s confidence ahead of the Asian Games. “In the last couple of years we have proved to the world that India is back on the hockey map. We are number five in the world but by the end of the year we want to be in top three,” said Harendra.
For him, this Asian Games is the beginning, the first step of the stairway to greatness that the teams long before the one he’s coaching have achieved. He believes his team, too, can get there.
“The Asian Games is the first step towards achieving that goal. We want to have a shot at the podium in 2020 Tokyo and the Asian Games will set the tone for our preparation towards that.”
Gold’s not a guarantee for Rani and Co
The women’s team coach, Sjoerd Marijne, is a pragmatic man. Despite his team being the highest-ranked in the event, he isn’t taking the top-of-the-podium finish for granted. He’s aware of his team’s weaknesses, its need for improvement in attack, its challenge to step up during the big matches. He knows despite being ranked lower, China, Japan and Korea could prevent Rani Rampal and her women from winning the first women’s hockey gold medal at the Asian Games in nearly four decades. The closest an Indian women’s side came to emulating the gold-medal winning side of 1982 (in New Delhi) was in Bangkok, 1998, when it lost 1-2 in the final to South Korea.
The sides after that managed two bronze medals in four editions. But women’s hockey in the country is in the midst of resurgence. Over the last two years, Rani’s team have often beaten sides ranked higher and accomplishing feats that the teams before couldn’t. The qualification to the 2016 Rio Olympics itself was historic. The 2017 Asia Cup triumph was a testimony of this team’s abilities.
The Indian women, for the first time ever, are placed in the top-10 world rankings. Like their male compatriots, the women’s strongest area is the defence. In the recently concluded World Cup, they were among the best defending sides. Despite that, they couldn’t get past the quarter-final because of insufficient goals (just five from five matches).
Asked if the team needs to be more aggressive, Marijne replied: “You always have to be realistic and see what was the situation. Yes, we must score more. But I don’t think it’s only about not being aggressive. It’s more about positioning. And, if we have better positioning inside the circle, we will score more goals.”
If that is sorted out, Rani’s team can end Indian women’s hockey’s 36-year wait to fetch an Asian Games gold medal.