Janneke Schopman was grinning ear-to-ear whereas hugging the assist workers as her group jumped in pleasure after Odisha Warriors received the ladies’s Hockey India League (HIL) on Sunday night.
Odisha Warriors gamers Yibbi Jansen, Freeke Moes, Sonika Tandi with chief coach Janneke Schopman. (HIL)
The top coach was high-fiving and embracing her gamers earlier than having a second of solitude within the center, wanting down on the blue turf of the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Astro Turf Hockey Stadium.
It was precisely a yr in the past on this pitch that the Schopman-coached Indian ladies’s group didn’t win a ticket to Paris, lacking the Olympics after qualifying for the earlier two editions in 2016 and 2021.
The Dutchwoman then had a meltdown the place she advised the media that she wasn’t valued and revered by Hockey India (HI) and that the nation is “extremely difficult for women”. She then resigned and left Indian shores. Expectedly, the 47-year-old — who received the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 Olympics as a Dutch participant — confronted backlash from the Indian hockey neighborhood.
So, when she returned to India in October 2024 for the HIL public sale, it wasn’t precisely essentially the most snug place, seeing the identical faces who had criticised her for the feedback. However the former India chief coach hadn’t returned to make mates, relatively make the very best group for the HIL.
“The fact that she knew the players was very helpful. She also knows the European players. In the auction, she created the best team which eventually helped them win HIL,” former India chief coach Sjoerd Marijne mentioned from the Netherlands. Marijne was Schopman’s predecessor and is now the assistant coach of the Netherlands ladies’s group.
Having first-hand information of the Indian setup and circumstances helped Schopman construct a powerful group with a wholesome mixture of expertise and youth. For instance, in defence she purchased the extraordinarily dependable and now retired Deep Grace Ekka and paired her up with the dynamic Ishika Chaudhary on the 2 flanks. In midfield, she introduced the short Neha Goyal, made her skipper, together with younger gamers like Baljeet Kaur and Nisha.
However considerably, for scoring and defending targets, she purchased the very best on this planet with Michelle Fillet and Freeke Moes as strikers and the world’s greatest drag-flicker, Yibbi Jansen, in for penalty corners (PC) — all from the Netherlands. Within the purpose, she put within the skilled Jocelyn Bartram from Australia, who ultimately conceded the least variety of targets in your complete event (6).
“I’m quite happy with the balance (of the team). If you have more speed in the forward line, it just means that you can create more opportunities,” Schopman mentioned within the blended zone after Odisha Warriors received the title.
“You see how important Yibbi (top scorer of the HIL) has been for us. Even in a game where we had only 2-3 PCs, she scored the first or the second and we were in the game again. It’s nice to coach a team that has a very good PC (setup).”
Whereas the opposite coaches took time to know the gamers and get them to kind a group, Schopman’s Warriors had already taken off. She used her private relations with each Indian and overseas athletes (largely Dutch), introducing them to one another, making them to gel rapidly. She ensured that particularly the Indian juniors, whom she additionally coached throughout her four-year stint right here, spend extra time with the overseas gamers.
“The players were talking to each other. That’s a big benefit. That means there’s more depth. For the domestic junior players, it was a great opportunity and experience,” mentioned Schopman.
The very best instance of a junior participant evolving was Rutaja Dadaso Pisal, whose brace helped the Warriors win the ultimate 2-1. Schopman knew the striker nicely as she was within the junior programme when the Dutchwoman was India coach. Having seen her exploits within the nationwide camp, Scopman knew the power and pace Rutaja possesses.
“Whatever she said about India etc., all that controversy is another story. But as a coach she performed her duty. A lot of our girls who hadn’t played under her got to learn from her. I met and congratulated her. She did a good job,” mentioned former India skipper and Dronacharya awardee Pritam Rani Siwach, eight of whose proteges performed the HIL closing.
Schopman, who now coaches the junior women in Germany, has turned a chapter, redeeming herself on the identical venue the place she had suffered a giant jolt in January 2024.
“I don’t look back much. I came here because I really like the people in the franchise. Odisha is close to my heart. The state cares so much for hockey and if I can contribute to bring some prizes to Odisha then it’s a big honour for me,” mentioned Schopman.
“I’m happy for the girls. I’m also happy for myself and the staff. I’m here because I love hockey. I love coaching. It was a great challenge because I’ve never done the whole different countries, bringing them together. It was really fun to do. And now I’m just happy we won.”