Hockey India appoints Peter Haberl as mental conditioning coach for women's team

Hockey India appointed American psychologist Peter Haberl as the Indian women's hockey team's new mental conditioning coach on Saturday.

Haberl, who hails from Colorado Springs, USA, will assist head coach Janneke Schopman.

Currently, the Indian team is playing at the Women's Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi. India got off to a terrific start, beating Thailand 7-1 in the opening match.

India, however, failed to reach the final of the recently concluded Asian Games, where the Women in Blue suffered a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of host China in the semifinal. India eventually lost an opportunity to secure a direct entry to the Paris Olympics. Indian women won a bronze medal, beating Japan in the third-place playoff.

The team now has to play in the qualifiers in January 2024 to know its fate.

This will be the second partnership between Schopman and Haberl, as they had worked together with the USA women's hockey team in the past.

The Indian team is expected to make good use of Haberl's presence when it plays the Olympic qualifiers scheduled in Ranchi between January 13 and 19.

Haberl, a former ice hockey player, comes with a vast wealth of experience, which will be handy for India. He began his career by imparting this knowledge to the US Women’s Ice Hockey Team as a Sports Psychology Consultant from 1996 to 2006 and has since then perfected his craft on his way to being appointed Sport Psychologist – US Olympic Committee from 2001 to 2005 and Senior Sport Psychologist – US Olympic and Paralympic Committee from 2005 to 2023.

Talking about Haberl's appointment, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, “He is a thorough professional and comes highly recommended. We have secured his services to best equip the Indian Women’s Hockey Team to perform without any inhibitions and I am sure that this step will help the team immensely in the future. Haberl will closely work with the team in the upcoming tournaments, including the much-awaited Paris Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi later this year.”