We still punch above our weight, says former India international and Japan coach Jude Menezes

KOLKATA: Former India goalkeeper Jude Menezes missed out on making his first trip to India as a coach a memorable one as the Japanese women’s team went down to India in the final of Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi on Sunday night.

In the group game, Japan gave India a formidable fight but in the final, they just couldn’t get the ball past Savita’s defences. However, Menezes will be coming to India once more in January as Japan have been drawn to play the Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi and on that occasion, he will aim for nothing short of a spot at the Paris Olympics.

Falling short at both Asian Games and in Ranchi, Menzes is, however, well aware of the challenges.

“We are still in a growth phase because we need matches. China or India have played more international games. Also, we are a decentralised programme. We don’t train together for months. It’s a camp-based programme so we train together for a week or 10 days and then they go back to their clubs. So, this year we have had 100 training days but ideally, I would want 180 or 200 days,” Menezes had said at the start of the tournament in Ranchi.

Moreover, even though Japan won Asian Champions Trophy in 2021 in Menezes’ first assignment, the team has been going through a rebuilding phase since Tokyo and are quite young and inexperienced.

“We have grown quite significantly since the Tokyo Olympics. Around nine or 10 girls moved on. Then we were right in the middle of Covid and matches became hard to get. Getting experience is a bit of a problem,” said the coach who played more than 100 international matches for India.

“But we still punch above our weight and I’m quite proud of how far the team has come over the past couple of years,” he proudly added.

Working with Japan’s women’s team isn’t his first stint as a coach. He has been living in New Zealand for 21 years and has been part of their coaching system for quite a while. He also was with the national women’s team for eight years over two Olympic cycles. But training in Japan has been a different challenge altogether.

“Language is a challenge in Japan, unlike New Zealand. Because when I am talking to you in English, if I tell you something you understand and we both walk away. In Japan, even though I have a translator, I have to look for understanding, I have to make sure. It makes me a better coach because I have to observe a little more and look for understanding,” said the father of two.

Also, as Menezes said, since the Japanese are a shy culture, he had to break down barriers in the beginning. “They are shy but they are very friendly people. It wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. In fact, it was quite easy,” he added.

Irrespective of all these difficulties, what’s important though is that he has been enjoying his role. “The experience of being in Japan is quite different but it’s a great learning experience for me leading a programme. The Japanese are fantastic people. Makes it really great to work there,” said the former India player.

Hopefully, all this will eventually help him to get the desired result which is to qualify for the Olympics and then maybe a podium finish in Paris.