Kolkata: Surprisingly, Hockey India is yet to make an official declaration. However, Janneke Schopman is named as the chief coach of the Indian women’s hockey team on Hockey India’s official website. The 44-year-old has taken over as head coach of Indian women’s hockey from Sjoerd Marijne. She is also the country’s first female head coach.
Schopman is not a new face in Indian women’s hockey; she joined the team as an analytical coach in January this year and worked closely with Marijne to help the team achieve unparalleled success at the Tokyo Olympics. She returned after a brief trip to the United States, and the team was handed over to her.
Schopman won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with the Dutch team, and she was also a part of the squad that won the 2006 Women’s Hockey World Cup in Madrid and the 2007 Champions Trophy. She and her team won the gold medal at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. She led the team to a silver medal in the 2010 World Cup in Rosario.
"Janneke is an experienced coach. She knows exactly how the girls are, what is needed in India, where do they have to improve" – Sjoerd Marijne
As per reports, Janneke Schopman, India's analytical coach has now been appointed as chief coach of the Indian Women's #hockey team! pic.twitter.com/UVbPeulBT1
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) October 16, 2021
The Dutch would have set the vision for the team that punched above its weight to reach the semifinals in Tokyo as the next head coach. And Schopman’s coaching abilities will be put to the test in the coming year, which will be a pivotal one for the Indian women’s hockey team as they compete in the Asian Games and the World Cup. After Australia and New Zealand pulled out of the Women’s Hockey Pro League, the team will play in season three as a replacement team just for this season.
Schopman has taught the team how to handle pressure and normalised the attitude among the women to handle pressure by teaching them how to be psychologically tough since her arrival in January. Vandana Katariya, a senior player who scored a hattrick at the Olympics, previously stated to The Bridge, “Schopman instilled a confidence to perform under pressure and taught us not to give up till the end of the game,”.
The women who stood out following their defeat over the British painted a clear picture of their confidence. They didn’t concede a defeat in any of their matches until the semifinals, and they never lost by more than one goal. The Indian women’s hockey team has returned to Bengaluru and will be vying for another successful season; however, with such high expectations, Schopman will need to clearly define a vision for 2022.
