Chief coach Harendra Singh backs young team to emerge stronger from Pro League setback

BENGALURU: The Indian women’s hockey team endured a difficult campaign in the FIH Pro League this season. The final leg— a European sojourn— was marked by eight consecutive losses, inconsistent performances and eventual relegation. Yet, under-fire chief coach Harendra Singh remains optimistic, backing his young squad to learn from the setbacks and emerge stronger ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup.With a string of edgy performances and missed opportunities, the team’s struggles have been hard to ignore. With qualification for the World Cup on the cards, the seasoned Indian coach finds himself tasked with rebuilding confidence.During a select virtual interaction on Wednesday, the coach reflected on what went wrong in the Pro League, addressed concerns around team structure, and outlined the road ahead as India prepares for a crucial phase.ExcerptsOn the Europeanleg: We are disheartened, but I am not in pain. Except for two games — Argentina's first and China's first game — we were very competitive in the rest of the games.On the relegation: I won't call it a setback. We deserved to be there (Pro League). Last time we were at eight points, but we still played the Pro League. This year, we were on 10 points; we scored more goals, but we are still out. We've improved, but the players are overthinking. Maybe this (out of Pro League) is a blessing. Now, we have to reset ourselves.We were only playing against top teams. If you lose, again and again, you lose your confidence. Now we get the chance to play against mediocre teams over the next year and rebuild the confidence, and reset. We can make a habit of winning.On the areas the team needs to work on: We’ve made three major identifications. I am not blaming my players, because it’s a young team with several experienced players missing due to injuries. Nikki, Udita and Susheela were injured before the European leg. We were handicapped without three dependable defenders. PC (penalty corner) defending is an area that we need to work on, along with time management, game management and decision-making.On how the players are dealing with the setback: We’ve hired a Bengaluru-based company, and they’ve been working with the players on a day-to-day basis to help deal with the mental aspect of the game. We’ve identified the areas to work on. It's not a mental thing, but decision-making and sometimes anxiety. Anxiety sometimes helps, but too much anxiety puts you on a negative path. Also, this team is very young and hence you are bound to make mistakes.We want to encourage them to make decisions. Until they don’t make decisions, who will decide whether it's right or wrong? The hesitation to take calls is costing them.On the Asia Cup: It’s going to be very competitive, but we have a 50-50 chance. The only thing is we have to hold our nerves, not give away soft PCs. In Asia, we are not afraid of any team we take on; we don’t hold back. Our challenge is that we have to capitalise on the opportunities. For that, our players must hold onto their emotions – they are too eager to score. If we can overcome these, we have a good chance.