We want to prove Tokyo wasn’t a one day wonder, says Indian women’s hockey coach Schopman

Schopman
said
after
the
high
in
Tokyo,
they
are
now
determined
to
defend
their
Asia
Cup
title,
which
will
ensure
a
direct
qualification
to
the
FIH
Women’s
World
Cup,
to
be
jointly
co-hosted
by
Spain
and
Netherlands
from
July
1
to
17.
The
Indian
women
recorded
their
best-ever
performance
in
the
Olympics
last
year
by
finishing
fourth.

“Our
performance
in
Tokyo
exceeded
our
expectations
but
we
still
have
more
gains
to
make
to
be
in
the
top-6
in
the
world.
We
need
to
keep
improving
because
the
girls
don’t
want
to
be
a
one-day
wonder,”
Schopman
said
during
a
virtual
press
conference
ahead
of
Asia
Cup.

“They
want
to
be
right
up
there
and
play
against
the
best
of
the
world
to
their
potential.”
After
the
Olympics,
the
Indian
women
played
just
one
game
in
the
Asian
Champions
Trophy
in
Donghae,
South
Korea
last
month
when
they
were
forced
to
pull
out
of
the
event
after
one
player
tested
positive
for
COVID-19.

“Since
the
Olympics,
we
played
just
one
game.
The
Asia
Cup
is
very
important
to
us
as
it
is
a
qualifying
tournament
for
the
World
Cup.
There
is
plenty
of
stake
at
place,”
the
coach
said.

The
top
four
teams
from
the
Asia
Cup,
scheduled
to
be
held
between
January
21-28
at
the
Sultan
Qaboos
Sports
Complex
in
Muscat,
will
directly
qualify
for
this
year’s
World
Cup.

Schopman
said
her
coaching
style
is
simple:
“work
on
your
individual
game
and
try
to
be
dominant”
over
the
opponents.
“As
a
coach
I
have
a
clear
philosophy.
I
would
like
us
to
be
more
dominant
when
in
possession.
We
need
to
work
our
game
and
strike
a
balance
between
attack
and
defence.
The
thing
which
we
have
learnt
from
Tokyo
is
that
we
need
to
focus
on
what
we
can
control
and
can
do
ourselves,”
she
said.

“We
need
to
figure
out
what
we
are
good
at
on
the
pitch
and
see
work
on
our
shortcomings.”
Veteran
goalkeeper
Savita
Punia,
who
will
lead
the
side
in
the
Asia
Cup
in
the
absence
of
regular
skipper
Rani
Rampal
who
is
recovering
from
an
injury,
said
Tokyo
Games
is
a
thing
of
the
past
as
a
busy
season
awaits,
which
includes
two
big-ticket
events
—
the
Asian
Games
and
the
Commonwealth
Games.

“The
whole
year
is
important
for
us.
We
have
3-4
major
tournaments
lined
up
including
the
CWG
and
Asian
Games.
Besides
we
will
also
make
our
debut
at
the
FIH
Pro
League
this
year.
“Our
main
focus
is
to
qualify
for
the
World
Cup
through
Asia
Cup
and
then
win
the
Asian
Games
to
directly
qualify
for
the
2024
Paris
Olympics,”
she
said.