Asian Champions Trophy: Indian women's team aim to build squad depth

Besides India, the high-profile continental tournament, scheduled from November 19 to 28, will feature Paris Olympics silver medallists China, along with Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

India offered a glimpse of its growing versatility at the recent Asian Games in Japan, where it defeated China to clinch gold and secure automatic qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Three-time Asian Champions Trophy winners India will now have another opportunity to underline that their Asian Games triumph was no flash in the pan when they face China again on home turf in Bhopal.

"We are busy creating more depth, which also makes training sessions more competitive. The players are also aware of that," said Marijne, who is in his second stint with the Indian women's team after previously coaching the side from 2017 to 2021.

"We want the players to be able to play in different positions. It’s to create more depth in the squad. It becomes helpful if a player gets injured, especially in a tournament like the Olympics, and it’s very helpful for the development of the players," added Marijne.

Citing the examples of Ishika and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Marijne said the idea was to make players comfortable in roles beyond their primary positions. Ishika, for instance, is primarily a forward but is now also being groomed to operate in the mid-field.

"Ishika normally plays as a striker and now sometimes plays as a midfielder as well; it's the same with Rutuja (Dadaso Pisal). So, they have to learn to adapt to playing in other positions and we want to see if this adds something to the game we want to play, to the improvements we want to see in the team," he added.

Marijne said India would concentrate on its own game rather than get caught up in analysing opponents, their combinations or individual players.

"The main thing is what I've said the whole year, and it will be the same for this tournament: we have to focus on ourselves, what we want to improve after the Asian Games, what we want to do better. That is where the main focus is for us. And then it doesn't matter who is the opponent.

"We have worked on those topics in the camp in Bengaluru, and now it's time to see how they perform under pressure in a tournament," he added.

The coach also sees the tournament as an opportunity for young players Pooja Sahu and Jyoti Singh to make their mark, while forward Mumtaz Khan's return adds another option to the attacking line.

"There are youngsters like Pooja who will get a chance, Jyoti Singh for the first time and Mumtaz is back after a long time. I think this is a good platform for all of them to show what they are capable of."

After ACT, India's focus will shift to the FIH Pro League, which begins early next year.

The team qualified for the competition after winning the FIH Nations Cup in June. Marijne expects it to be a challenging road ahead.

"Playing against Argentina and Germany in February immediately after the small break following a tournament like Hockey India League is not easy. It's always a tough period to come back into the international rhythm because the competition level on the international stage is very, very different."

"But that's not only with India, that's the same with every country. You need time to adapt. So, that will be a big challenge for us: how fast we can get the girls back in that zone," said Marijne.