Deepika scores as India celebrate retaining the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 title (Hockey India photos)
From the build-up to the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir and right through the tournament as well, all the focus around India had been on goal-scoring. Do they have what it takes to convert chances from open play? Can they finally solve their Penalty Corner troubles? But on the night they won their second straight title by beating China 1-0, let’s begin by focussing on the defence.
With 12 minutes to go in the first half, and the score still 0-0, China won a Penalty Corner from which Tan Jinzhuang managed to find some space to take a shot on goal. After diving in anticipation of the first shot, India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi quickly got up and readied herself for Tan’s shot – this is something ’keepers train hard for. The shot on goal was seemingly well-struck and headed towards the back of the net when Bichu dived to her right like a football ‘keeper and managed to get her stick to it in the nick of time.
Now, had China scored first, the complexion of the final could have been different and they might well have shut shop to frustrate India. But on the rare occasion that Indian defence was tested in Rajgir, they found someone to step up. The all-important winning goal then came from the stick of Deepika, who endured another mixed night, but produced a decisive moment early in the third quarter. India won a Penalty Corner right out of the gate from halftime, but after a botched trap from the injection, Deepika was found in space inside the circle and she hit a powerful reverse hit that beat the Chinese defence. She’d miss a Penalty Stroke later (that she did so well to win in the first place) but finished as the leading goal-scorer (11) and player of the tournament.
That perhaps was the story of the tournament for India. At the start of a fresh cycle under head coach Harendra Singh, they found solutions to different problems thrown at them over seven matches, and emerged with a 100% win record. India finished the tournament with 29 goals, conceding just two and maintaining a clean sheet in six matches.
“The team’s results were not good in recent times, so I think this is like a tonic,” Harendra said after the match. “But we need to keep our feet on the ground, this is a good start, which gives us confidence and tells us where we need to work more.”
“People are talking about penalty corners, this is a process. A 21-year-old girl (Deepika), when she had to deliver, she did it today. She might have missed a few, but in the process that we are in, she and the whole team played attacking hockey with good defensive structure. What more can I ask for? But it should not be that we start celebrating so much that we forget the path we are on,” he added.
The coach – delighted at winning a tournament on his home soil in Bihar – reiterated that the Asian Champions Trophy is just the starting point of this journey towards LA 2028, and that the World Cup and Asian Games coming up in 2026 is the acid test.
Looking ahead, Harendra said that he will work with a core group of 40 players. That keeps the door open for plenty of senior players – Vandana Katariya, Nikki Pradhan, Sonika, and Monika to name a few – who didn’t feature in this tournament. But the performances from youngsters like Sunelita Toppo, Vaishnavi Phalke and Beauty Dungdung will mean the veterans will have their task cut out to win their place in the main squad going forward. If it fosters healthy internal competition, the initial signs are good for India.
Coming into the tournament, Harendra was in a tricky spot. It was a title India had won in Ranchi last year, but that didn’t matter much as they then missed out at the Olympic qualifiers. For the 2024 edition, the two Asian teams who made it to Paris – Japan and eventual silver medallists China – brought highly inexperienced squads. So, if India did win the title again, it would have been just delivering what was least expected of them. But had they lost, it would have been seen as another setback.
In that context, as Harendra said, his job has only begun. But it has begun well.
