Indian women’s hockey team coach Jeanneke Schopman is emphasizing on consistency, without which, she said on Friday, the team would struggle to go far in the upcoming World cup.
The quadrennial event will be jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Spain from July 1 to 17.
India’s best ever result in the World Cup was a fourth-place finish in the inaugural edition in 1974. In 2018, India Ranked eighth.
“If we really play to our potential, the way we know, we play consistently, anything is possible. Women’s hockey is so tight at the moment, anyone can beat anyone,” said Schopman. told PTI in an interview.
“(But) consistency is a big point of attention. If we can continue to play well then who knows the top-4 and the podium in the World Cup is likely.
“At the same time if we don’t do well we could be out of the quarter-finals.”
The coach said players need to understand their potential and perform on the field to achieve consistency.
“I think we have a lot of potential and if we really play to our potential then we are a tough team,” said the 45-year-old.
Dutch double Olympic medalist defender Schopmann said players have a responsibility to play in order to be successful in the World Cup.
“If I need to see something, the players are taking ownership of the field and believe they can perform.
“Actually, I think we are there. We are in the top 6. Our performance against Argentina (in the Pro League recently) showed that we can compete against any country.
The former Dutch player said that apart from performing on the field, taking care of the mental side of the players also contributes to the success of the team.
“It’s important to be in the present moment and not let mistakes bother you. So it’s important to spend a lot of time discussing the mental side of the game. It’s important for performance.”
India finished a reliable third in their first FIH Pro League season and Schopman said the recent back-to-back high-intensity matches against Belgium and Argentina are well ahead of the World Cup.
“Very happy with our preparation. We have one more week ahead. Last week we had Pro League matches and the Belgians were very happy with the way we reacted after the matches. So preparations are going in the right direction.”
“Finishing on the podium in our first Pro League is a big achievement. We got really good runs against every team we played for. Apart from points, we got to learn a lot from these games. It was a satisfying run,” he said. Told.
He said, ‘Our team has not played many matches. Playing in the top 6 sports in the world is important because you have to perform, be prepared and every mistake counts.
“In a way it was good for us. We played the way we wanted to play and saw where we needed to improve and learn from every game. ,
Schopman, who was Sjoerd Marin’s deputy during India’s Tokyo Olympic campaign, said the fourth-place finish was a huge confidence booster for the team.
“As a player you work hard to get results, so in Tokyo when we got results and we showed what we can do, automatically the players started getting more confident. Believing in yourself is something that is hard to come by,” she said.
The Indian team, placed in Pool B along with England, New Zealand and China, will begin their campaign against England at Amstelveen on June 3.
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