New Delhi: Women’s hockey coach Neil Hawgood credited India’s title triumph at the Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday night, to their “bruising experience” at the Rio Olympic Games two months ago.
India — who qualified for the Olympics after 36 years — had finished last at the quadrennial event, but carried back plenty in terms of experience and learning to fight till the end.
On Saturday night, the girls stood tall against world no. 8 China in Singapore, pulling off a last-minute stunner to lift their first Asian Champions Trophy title in four attempts.
Hawgood said the “self belief in the squad was high”.
“It is their victory and I want them to savour it,” the coach said on the team’s return here on Sunday.
It could be argued that China travelled with an experimental squad, but one cannot take anything away from Hawgood’s unit, ranked world no. 12, who showed the will to fight.
“The girls have gained a lot from the Rio Olympics and the biggest thing is belief. We did not have results to show in Rio, but the experience of playing at the biggest stage has brought maturity to their game. I am proud of the way they fought till the dying minute,” Hawgood said.
India, who lost just one game en route to the final, were locked 1-1 till the 59th minute when Deepika Thakur found the net in the final minute to bring home the glory.
“It is a special victory. There were teams ranked above us but we had the urge to win. As the coach said, the Rio Games experience helped us here. The top teams believe in fighting till the end and we did the same her," said Deepika,
Skipper Sushila Chanu missed out on the tournament with an injury, with Vandana Katariya being handed the reins.
“Every player played a crucial part and took up responsibility. Playing together over a period of time has made us more comfortable and has led to better understanding," said Vandana,
“A title victory is always special and we are enjoying every bit of it.” Hawgood, however, cautioned the team not to let their guard down and prepare for the Australia tour with fresh energy.
“The path ahead is not easy. We are still not the best and there are many areas, including penalty corner conversions, that require a lot of work. I want the girls to build on from here,” he said.
