The two-legged encounter against a lower-ranked USA side was hardly expected to be easy considering that the American girls were very much a force to contend with, notwithstanding the recent slump in their rankings.
Contrary to expectations, Janneke Schopman’s side caved in against the Indians, losing the opening encounter by a 1-5 margin, and home fans could hardly be blamed for the premature celebrations that followed.
The elation soon gave way to a gripping sense of anxiety that prevailed within the precincts of the Kalinga Stadium and beyond as the Americans commenced a goal fest of their own in the second leg and restored parity much to the chagrin of the Indian bench, forcing captain Rani to play saviour via a memorable last-quarter strike that the USA had no answer to.
It was a classic contest - one that no spectator will forget in a hurry - and the coach of the Indian women’s team admitted as much.
The qualifiers are now history and Janneke Schopman is now the Analytical Coach of the Indian team, who begin the Olympic year with a tour of New Zealand.
Sjoerd Marijne has seen it all - an India stint which saw the Dutchman switch camps from the women’s side to the men’s and back - and transform his image from being a perceived outsider to a congenial insider at the helm of a rejuvenated women’s team confident of making the Olympic quarterfinals despite being pooled with mighty Netherlands.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Marijne was all praise for veteran Sunita Lakra who called it a day recently - while stressing on the importance of internal competition within a team who are losing no sleep whatsoever over a daunting schedule at Tokyo 2020.
For well over a decade now, Sunita Lakra has been the backbone of a defensive unit that has gotten consistently better, but the 28-year-old was forced to hang up her boots owing to injury and the Chief Coach believes that the Odisha girl will be tough to replace.
Midfielder Nikki Pradhan was not picked for the New Zealand tour - and, Marijne feels that internal competition within the team is an absolute must in order to string together the best combination in time for the Olympics.
The Indian girls find themselves in a virtual pool of death - being drawn alongside the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa at Tokyo 2020.
Rani and co. will open their Olympic campaign against an indomitable Netherlands team and then take on Germany and Great Britain - all of whom play the Women’s Pro League.
The Indian eves, however, are not part of the Pro League - how much of a difference will that make to the team’s prospects at the Olympics?
Coach Marijne deliberates on the topic - listing the pros and cons of not being a participant in the women’s competition of the FIH’s home and away league.
The prospect of facing Alyson Annan’s world champions first up, in Tokyo, is not something that Marijne feels uneasy about - the Dutchman actually sees a silver lining in being part of the same pool as the Netherlands.
As part of a 12-day tour that begins on January 25, the Indians will play practice matches against a New Zealand development team before taking on the Black Sticks Women and Great Britain, in Auckland, as part of the preparations for the Olympic Games at Tokyo.
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