Harendra Singh has always delivered results whenever entrusted with an assignment and has now set his sights set on bigger wins after guiding the Indian women’s team to their first Asia Cup triumph in 13 years.
India’s chief coach feels that it is just the beginning as his team embark on a more difficult journey in 2018, which includes Commonwealth Games in Australia, the Asian Games in Indonesia and the World Cup in England. “The Asia Cup is just the foundation, we have to achieve much more. The year 2018 is very crucial for Indian women’s hockey. We have three important tournaments – Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the World Cup and I expect minimum 2 medals out of this three tournaments,” Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.
By his own admission, he had barely watched women’s hockey, leave aside coaching a side, but the Asia Cup title after a hiatus of 13 years in Kakamigahara, Japan on Sunday made him believe that “nothing is impossible” in the world of sport. “I don’t remember following women’s hockey closely before the Hockey World League Semi-finals in Johannesburg earlier this year,” Singh said.
But for someone who has been associated with national teams over the years, Singh was confident that he could deliver in women’s hockey too. “I knew I can deliver in women’s hockey also. I can make a significant contribution for the Indian women’s team,” he said.
‘Any medal would do’
Known to be an astute tactician, Harendra had also coached the Indian junior men’s hockey team to World Cup gold in Lucknow last year. Harendra did not want to compare the two victories, “For a coach, every tournament is important. The Junior World Cup win and the Asia Cup title with the girls are completely different,” He added, “I had three years to prepare the junior men’s team while I prepared the girls in just 23-24 days. So the satisfaction of both the wins are different. [But] I am never satisfied.”
Singh has always been an obsessive coach, hungry for results. And whether it is in charge of his employer Air India or any other national team, Singh demands a podium finish. He weighed in on India’s chances at the upcoming marquee events, “Any medal would do. The colour of the medal, though, will be decided by the girls. Nothing is impossible.”
Prior to becoming the continental champions by beating China 5-4 in the shoot-out, India had already sneaked through to the World Cup by finishing 8th at the HWL Semi-finals in Johannesburg. “Since taking over, I just focussed on team bonding and worked on developing their confidence. They have worked towards that and also showed the world that they don’t need favours from others. They can earn their World Cup berth on merit,” Singh said.