Before the beginning of the ladies’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers India’s head coach Janneke Schopman had listed fast and good considering, making the proper choices and robust psychological and bodily framework as areas that that they had labored on for the event.
But when it got here to executing their learnings, Schopman’s gamers faltered large time on Saturday as they made a number of errors, despatched defective passes, lacked persistence and lacked composure on the sphere as they went down 0-1 in opposition to a preventing United States staff on the opening evening of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers on Saturday.
The defeat of their first match has left the Indians just about on the ropes as they now must defeat New Zealand of their second match on Sunday and hope for outcomes of different matches in Pool B to work of their favour.
The results of the ultimate match of the day in a packed stadium rooting for the hosts has opened up Pool B and the Indians must get better in time for an additional robust encounter with the Black Sticks.
Asked what went fallacious for her gamers, chief coach Schopman mentioned, “I think we created theoretically enough (chances). But I haven’t seen the composure on the board or confidence on the ball that I’m used to seeing our team doing in training or the matches previously. I think we were a little bit rushed, we were forcing too much. I think maybe that had to do with the fact that we’re one-nil down in the match early.”
She mentioned a few of her gamers didn’t have an excellent match and made loads of errors. The coach was perturbed that her gamers misplaced each 50-50 ball within the match.
“Well, look I’m sure they know how they have to play. We play always the same way and we have to play to our principles. But if you lose every 50-50 ball more or less then you know it’s going to be a tough game. And we had some players that didn’t have a great game and to their credit, they kept fighting and they kept going for it, but they weren’t great.”
“I think it was it was a miracle that almost everyone had one or two errors.”
She praised her gamers for preventing until the tip. “And yeah, sometimes you have those games that you’re not good and then you have to keep fighting. And at least I think we did that. So I’m proud of that, that we did all those things.”
Schopman mentioned her gamers didn’t play to their power, misplaced their composure and began enjoying lengthy balls into the circle which isn’t their traditional sport.
“I do think we have to be a little bit smarter and understanding. What does the game need? Where’s the space? What is our strength like?
“Our strength is not to hit long balls into the circle. And I thought we did that too often and I kept trying to tell them, ‘Just play short, we’re good. We have the skill, we can eliminate the mistakes, we can get into the circle’. So I think we just have to play more to our strengths. We have to be better ourselves. It doesn’t really have to matter like today.
“I’m not saying we lost to ourselves because we didn’t. I think the USA put up a good fight. But I do think that we didn’t play to our strengths and we went away from what typically works for us. And I think we need to revisit that and say, look, let’s go back to what works for us. We know what we can do, whether that’s a normal position or holding possession,” mentioned the 46-year-old Dutch coach who was the assistant coach when India reached the semifinals on the Tokyo Olympic Games,” mentioned the Dutch coach, a former Olympic champion along with her native nation.
Asked whether or not her gamers succumbed to the strain of enjoying an necessary event like an Olympic Qualifier at residence, Schopman mentioned she must ask her gamers about that however added that the group was very supportive through the Asian Champions Trophy that India received her earlier than the Asian Games.
Claiming that the Americans had been the underdogs and had nothing to lose, Schopman mentioned they didn’t play hockey in any respect and stored defending and her staff was enjoying in opposition to the wall.
“I know it’s it’s a tough game being you know playing against the wall because they didn’t really try to play hockey anymore. I mean they were just defending, you know, encountering and fair to them they can do that. But you know that when you’re a better team that is what teams will do against you. I think that we need to be a little bit smarter, a little bit more composed on the ball, a little bit more, yeah. Learning to just be confident even though there’s pressure on the ball,” mentioned the coach.
She hoped that her gamers would come again to the stadium on Sunday and play their pure sport in opposition to New Zealand.
“I think the only thing I can ask them is to keep fighting. And I think that’s what we did and we we really tried and we just made unfortunate decisions and it was not you cannot pinpoint it to one person or two persons,” she added.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated news company feed – IANS)
Source: www.news18.com
