Podium,history for Indian girls

Beat England 3-2 on penalties to win maiden medal, a bronze,at Womens Junior Hockey World Cup.

For years,they have been at the centre of one controversy after another and suffered one heavy defeat followed by a heavier one at major international tournaments. Finally,there is something to cheer for.

The Indian womens junior hockey team beat England 3-2 on penalties to win the countrys first ever bronze medal at the junior World Cup in Monchengladbach,Germany,on Sunday,thus going some distance to wiping off years of frustration and underachievement.

India entered the junior World Cup as rank outsiders,justifying the label after succumbing 6-1 to Australia in their first match. However,they went on to surprise many top teams as the tournament progressed,culminating with a win over a tough English side.

Eighteen-year-old Rani scored Indias only goal in regulation time and then found the net again in the penalty shootout to script a memorable victory. Navneet Kaurs strike handed India a 3-2 lead in the shootout and Anna Toman missed the following shot,securing Indias win. The two teams had been locked 1-1 after regulation time.

This is the first time a womens team – senior or junior – has won a medal at a FIH tournament and is the biggest achievement since the womens seniors won the gold medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. The girls now know what it takes to win a medal at a major tournament. The experience they take from here is immense, chief coach Neil Hawgood said.

TOUGH ROAD

After enjoying a golden run from 2002 to 2004,the team was repeatedly rocked by scandals,sometimes for no fault of their own.

Their sponsors in 2009 were tarnished by serious fraud allegations and the team went without any financial backing for an extended period. With money,or the lack of it,being a perennial issue,the womens team protested silently over non-payment of dues in early 2010 by sporting black arm bands at every game.

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The most damaging scandal,however,involved chief coach MK Kaushik when few members of the team accused him of sexual harassment. The Dronacharya award-winning coach,who had built a strong team with an eye on the Delhi Commonwealth Games later that year,consequently stepped down. He was cleared of the charges but his dissociation from the team had a lasting impact. India failed to qualify for the semifinals for the first time in a decade and did not make the cut for the London Olympics.

REDEMPTION

Rebuilding from there started from scratch and after experimenting with several Indian coaches,Hockey India turned to Hawgood. He saw the team at the junior Asia Cup soon after his appointment and was confident of their abilities. Hence,it was decided to include them in the senior program. Neil laid special emphasis on that and the results are showing, says former national coach CR Kumar,who was Hawgoods assistant.

As many as 10 players in the current squad have also represented India in major senior tournaments over the last year. Hawgood risked taking the inexperienced lot to big tournaments like the World League earlier this year. The success has come from the losses,as we have been beaten by top teams. The senior-level experience has helped the girls here, the Australian said.

Kumar hoped this feat would usher a new era in womens hockey. We have to ensure that we build on this win. It should be used as a catalyst to do well in the World Cups and the Olympics. It wont be easy,but these girls have shown that they can compete with the best on big stages, he said.