Janneke Schopman, the coach of the Indian women's hockey team, has made some serious allegations against Hockey India, the governing body of the sport in the country, in an interview with The Indian Express. Janneke Schopman gave the interview on Sunday after India defeated the USA 2-1 in their final match of the Rourkela leg of the 2023/24 FIH Hockey Pro League at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. Janneke, an Olympic gold medalist with the Netherlands in 2008, started as an analytical coach with the Indian team in 2020 and subsequently became head coach after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Janneke, the first woman coach of the Indian hockey team, broke down during the interview, the report said, while talking about her daily challenges in the top job and her dealings with Hockey India.
“Very difficult, very difficult. Because, you know, I come from a culture where women are respected and valued. I don't feel that here,” she said.
Janneke Schopman, 46, added that she has felt “alone a lot” over the past two years and claimed she was not “appreciated and respected” by her employers.
“Even when I was an assistant coach, some people wouldn't even look at me, wouldn't acknowledge me or wouldn't respond, and then you become a head coach and suddenly people are interested in you. I had a lot of trouble with it.” with that,” she said.
“I look at the difference in the way men's coaches are treated… between me and the men's coach, or the girls and the men's team, just in general. They (the female players) never complain and they work so hard. I would have to do that.” “I don't speak for them, so I don't. I love them. I think they work so hard, they do what I ask, they want to learn, want to do new things,” Schopman said.
“But for me personally, because I'm from the Netherlands and I've worked in the US, this country is extremely difficult as a woman, because I come from a culture where, yes, you can have an opinion and it is valued. It's really difficult .”
She added that she should have left after the 2022 Commonwealth Games where India won the bronze medal.
“If you had asked my family, I should have left after a year. In retrospect, I should have left after the Commonwealth Games because it was too difficult for me to keep it up,” she said.
Janneke's future with the Indian women's hockey team has been a matter of speculation since the team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics in January after finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Maybe, even though I know it's tough. But like I said, I love the girls and I see so much potential. But it's very difficult for me as an individual,” Janneke said of staying with the Indian team. or not.
The Indian Hockey Federation has not yet responded to the interview.
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