"Sometimes players say that they're tired but answer is 'I don't care'"- Savita Punia on Janneke Schopman's preparations for mental toughness

The Indian women's hockey team is at the business end of 2023 with the Women’s FIH Pro League to kick off in December. Although the women’s team is scheduled to play their first official match against the Netherlands on February 4, 2024, the squad is expected to travel to Spain on December 10 to play against top European teams for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers preparations.

The Indian women’s team has traveled enough throughout the year. It started with their tour of South Africa, where they played seven matches in the country - four against South Africa and three against the Netherlands. The team had an international gap of four months before they traveled to Australia in May followed by their visit to Germany in July.

At the end of July, the Women in Blue moved to Spain to play the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation. India comfortably won the event after defeating hosts Spain and England with identical margins of 3-0 to remain undefeated in the three-team tournament.

The team won a bronze medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, though they missed a direct entry for the Paris Olympics. Nevertheless, the Indian women’s hockey team returned to home soil to clinch the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy with a dominant show - seven wins in seven games.

Speaking on how the team has managed to cope with the fatigue during the traveling period from one nation to another, captain Savita Punia told the media on Thursday:

“Even after the Asian Games, we had a very short break. After that, we had a back-to-back tournament. And being in India, and we knew that the Asian Games didn't go as we wanted. So we had that sadness and were physically tired.

"But everyone had one thing, that we couldn't get a better chance. And we had to prove ourselves. And our team is very good. We worked very hard for this. So mentally, we learned a lot”

Savita further explained how head coach Janneke Schopman prepared the team mentally with grueling training with regard to the busy schedule.

“If you're physically tired, then what's your mental strength? How do you mentally prepare yourself? And what's your mindset? So those things definitely help you. And especially those who have a coach who doesn't take the name of getting tired, then we don't have another option.”

“Sometimes players say that they're tired. But the answer is, I don't care. Still, you have to do it. So everyone has prepared themselves so much that they can do it. And they (the coaching unit) work hard for everyone,” she added.

On the sidelines of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, Hockey India appointed Austria-born American sports psychologist Peter Haberl as the women’s team mental health and conditioning coach.

The appointment was focused with all eyes on the Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled between January 13 and 21 in Ranchi. Speaking on the general experience of the team’s interaction with the renowned sports psychologist, Savita mentioned:

“We have definitely got a lot of help from him because he has been in touch with the coach for a long time, since he has come with us. So continuously, before the Olympics, we used to do mindfulness sessions and Jann used to help with that. But as Jann also said, it is a little different to get one done by him and one by an expert by yourself. But it is a similar exercise that he gets done.”

The Indian skipper added:

“But when the one-on-one meeting with all the players happened, everyone liked it a lot. We also gave the team a message that today he is in front of us. So whatever the player feels, whether it is excitement, pressure, or how you feel. Some players in the team have 300 caps, some don't even have 50 caps. So everyone has their own thoughts before a match. So at least we have to discuss it with them. So everyone spoke babout themselves.”

“And after that, the meeting with him was very good for everyone. Because when everyone was coming out, it felt very good, very relaxed. And personally, if I say so, he observed things very calmly. It's not like he talks to you in between everything. And when they (players) feel the need, whenever they are off the field, they talk about that. So if I tell you the opinion of the whole team, then everyone liked it a lot. And in the future, we will definitely want to work with him.”

"We will prepare well as we know what these teams can do" - Janneke Schopman on Hockey Olympic Qualifiers

The Indian women's hockey team regained their personal best-ever ranking of sixth in the latest FIH world rankings after their Champions Trophy triumph earlier this week. The shift in ranking will serve as a major boost for the team when they begin their campaign for an Olympic berth in the space of two months.

Barring Germany (ranked fifth), India will face all lower-ranked teams in their FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers group. New Zealand, USA, Japan, Chile, Czech Republic, and Italy are the other contenders for the three Paris Olympics spots up for grabs in the qualifiers event in Ranchi.

Analyzing the opposition teams for the Qualifiers, head coach Janneke Schopman said they are aware of what all the participating teams bring with them and they shall prepare accordingly for each of them.

“When you know the world rankings you kind of know who you play against. Again we did our job, finishing high in Asian Champions Trophy. We know New Zealand from the past, we played them in the World Cup and Commonwealth (Games). We haven’t seen them in a while. We played US in the pro league last year. Italy - we never seen them in the competition. Maybe Savi (Savita) might tell me if they played Italy before,” the Dutch noted.

“We will prepare well as we know what these teams can do. Both New Zealand and US played pro league last year. US is just coming off from the pan America games (silver medal in women’s hockey event). We will focus on ourselves and know what we have to do and how we have to play. Let’s see how it goes,” she said further.

The Indian women's team is currently on a short break for the Diwali festival season, but some of the players will attend a camp in Bengaluru before they travel to Spain next month.