BENGALURU: Soon after Janneke Schopman quit as the head coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, a top contender to succeed the Dutchwoman was a familiar name in hockey circles —
Harendra Singh
. Sure enough, the Dronacharya award winner, who has coached various Indian teams, including the senior men and women for
over two decades, has taken over as the head coach of the senior women’s team.
Harendra, who until recently served as coach of the USA men’s hockey team, returned to the country to join the women’s camp last week. Sources in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) confirmed that Harendra has been involved in pruning the 60-member assessment squad to a core group of 33 during the trials held on April 6 and 7.
It is learnt that Harendra is in the process of putting together a team of support staff after most of them left along with Schopman.
An official announcement from
Hockey India
has been put on hold due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in place for the Lok Sabha elections. Apart from sports ministry protocols, hockey federation has to follow the MCC since their president and ex-India captain Dilip Tirkey is contesting the election from Sundargarh constituency in Odisha as a Biju Janata Dal candidate.
As a coach, Harendra’s career with Indian hockey began in 1997, and under him India have won 11 gold medals including the 2016 men’s junior World Cup, 2017 women’s
Asia Cup and 2018 Asian Champions Trophy (men).
Harendra was brought in as the senior men’s coach in 2017. During his tenure, which lasted over a year, India claimed the bronze at the 2018 Asian Games and finished fifth at the FIH World Cup at home. The following year, Harendra was ‘demoted’ as the junior coach.
In 2021, Harendra moved to the USA.
Earlier this year, Harendra helped the USA women’s team, which incidentally defeated India on home turf, to qualify for the Olympics this year. Harendra, who has always wanted to return to India to coach, has been handed the reins until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Harendra has a challenging job on hand. With the sword of Damocles hanging over his head — which is a norm in Indian hockey — he will have to rebuild the team from scratch.
After finishing fourth at Tokyo Olympics under Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne, the women’s team has courted controversy regularly. From seasoned star Rani Rampal being unceremoniously dumped from the squad to failing to qualify for the Paris Games, and Schopman leaving amidst allegations of not being treated fairly, women’s hockey has hit a new low.
The onus will be on Harendra to not only build a team but also reinforce interest in women’s game.
English (US) ·