Harendra Singh has been appointed national women’s hockey coach

Former Indian Hockey player and Dronacharya awardee Harendra Singh has been selected by Hockey India as the coach of the senior national women’s hockey team. According to a newspaper report, he will be appointed coach until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Harendra Singh will replace Janneke Schopman of Holland Janneke Schopman, who is a former Dutch hockey player, resigned last month as the coach of the national women's team after the Indian team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.

Hockey India has not made any formal announcement regarding the appointment of Harendra Singh as the model code of conduct is in force. The Hockey India president, Dilip Tirkey, is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Sundargarh Constituency in Odisha as a Biju Janata Dal candidate.

Harendra Singh Career 

• Harendra Singh started his career as a Hockey coach with French club HC Lyon's junior team in 1995. 
• He was appointed head coach of the Indian men’s junior team in 2014. He successfully coached the side to win the 2016 men's Junior World Cup in Lucknow.
• Hockey India appointed Harendra Singh as the coach of the senior national women's team in 2017. Under his guidance, the national women’s team won the gold medal at the 2017 Asia Cup held in Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan. 
• Harendra Singh was appointed as the coach of the senior men’s national team, replacing Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne in May 2018.  Sjoerd Marijne was appointed as the coach of the senior women’s national hockey team.
• During his period as senior men’s national hockey coach, the Indian team finished fifth in the 2018 men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar. The Indian men's team won a silver medal in the 2018 Champions Trophy held at Breda, Netherlands and a bronze medal at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
• However, a series of poor performances by the Indian men’s hockey team subsequently led to his removal by Hockey India in January 2019. After being removed by Hockey India, Harendra Singh became the head coach of the United States men's national hockey team in 2021. 

Hockey India announces 33-member Indian Women’s Hockey Team.

Hockey India has announced a 33-member Indian Women’s Hockey Team that will continue training in Bangalore until 16th May 2024. The Indian women's team will be selected from these 33 players in future coaching camps and international exposure tours.

The Indian Women’s Hockey Team will travel to Antwerp, Belgium and London, England, to face Argentina, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 later this year. 

Harendra Singh has joined the Bangalore camp to manage the senior national women's hockey team.