Women’s WC Qualifiers: Penalty-corner conversion is a real concern for Indian women’s team

Penalty-corner conversion is a real concern for Indian women’s team

India didn’t have a flawless FIH Women’s World Cup Qualifiers campaign at the G.M.C. Balayogi Hockey Ground here, but it left the tournament with its main target achieved — qualification for the marquee event secured without any trouble.

The statistics from India’s run tell a story: three wins, one draw, one defeat, 11 goals scored and five conceded in what was head coach Sjoerd Marijne’s first tournament since returning for his second stint. Yet beneath those numbers lies a familiar concern — finishing.

Former chief coaches Janneke Schopman and Harendra Singh, and perhaps Marijne himself will attest to it. The Dutchman admitted that India can do much better after the 0-2 loss to England in Saturday’s final. “They (England) got two penalty corners and scored from one of them. We got four and didn’t score any,” Marijne said.

While decision-making and better positioning in the circles are areas to be worked on, penalty-corner conversion is the more pressing concern. “If you don’t score off your PCs, you must score with your field opportunities. But PCs, most of the time, help in breaking the contest. That’s what we needed. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” Marijne added.

That said, there were positives as well. “I saw how the girls reacted in the semifinal and final, how they performed under pressure. You can’t do that in a training camp; you can’t replicate this pressure. I could see a lot of (good) things, which I will keep for myself,” he said, grinning.

“We’re playing more give-and-go hockey (now), which is something that we have improved on. We’re also creating plenty of opportunities. When you’re coming into a team, you want to improve 20 things. But you cannot do that. You make a list of five or 10 things, and you take it from there. And that’s why the information I got from these matches is so important”.