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Harendra Singh has been reappointed as the coach of the Indian women's team by Hockey India. An official announcement hasn't been made due to the model code of conduct being in place for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As per the Times of India, the reason for the model code of conduct affecting the announcement is Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey's candidature in the upcoming elections. The former India defender is contesting on a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ticket from Sundargarh, Odisha.
Harendra Singh, a Dronacharya Award winner, was the Indian women's team coach from 2017 to 2018. He then joined the men's team as their head coach. In 2019, Harendra left the Indian side and in 2021, he joined the USA men's team as coach.
The position of the women's team's head coach was vacant following Janneke Schopman's resignation. In her absence, the top 60 players of the country reported to Ankitha BS, the ad-hoc coach, for an assessment camp in Bengaluru.
On Monday, a 33-member squad was announced for a training camp at the SAI facility in Bengaluru.
The next set of international matches for the women's team are likely to come in May, as part of the FIH Pro League. The team will travel to Antwerp and London for those games.
The Savita Punia-led team would not feature in the Paris Olympics this year as they failed to qualify for the event.
Hockey India announced a 33-member training squad a day earlier
A day before the appointment of Harendra Singh, Hockey India had named a 33-member core group of players for a training camp in Bengaluru. This group has been selected from the larger, 60-member squad, that took part in an assessment camp following the National Championships last month.
The high-performance director of Hockey India, Herman Kruis, had his say during the announcement of the training squad.
"The 14th Hockey India Senior Women's National Championship was used to filter out the best hockey players from across the country, and over the last week, the coaches and selectors have further handpicked the 33 players they believe have the potential to propel the Indian Women’s Hockey Team to greater heights," he said in the official statement.
"We now have a promising squad that will feature in the upcoming international tours and FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24," he added.
Apart from the familiar names in the squad, a few new entrants also feature in the 33-member group. Some of these players are Marina Lalramnghaki, Manisha Chauhan, Madhuri Kindo, Ropni Kumari, Edula Jyoti, and Deepika Soreng, among others.
