Hockey India has just announced the appointment of Peter Haberl as mental conditioning coach for the Indian women’s hockey team. The release said, “Haberl, a licensed psychologist, who hails from Colorado Springs, USA, will work alongside the Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach Janneke Schopman…
“Haberl comes with prior experience of working with high-performing teams and individuals. He has worked at nine Olympic Games with medal-winning athletes and teams, providing innovative, cutting-edge mindfulness techniques and team-building strategies to optimise performance under pressure. With the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Ranchi from January 13 to 19, 2024, the news of Haberl’s appointment is warmly welcomed by the Indian Women’s Hockey Team.”
While it is indeed a welcome development, the timing of the appointment raises a number of important questions. Is the appointment coming as an afterthought? Why now, and not before the Asian Games? While the men had Paddy Upton as mental conditioning coach for a serious amount of money before the Asian Games, why weren’t the women’s team given access to such expertise? Did they not ask for one or was it that things weren’t done on time? Could it have helped the team earn direct qualification for the Paris 2024 Games?
In a gender-equal world, if the men were given something as important and relevant, why not the women? Why is it that the appointment comes after India lost a golden opportunity in Hangzhou? Also, is this now being done to save face ahead of the Asian Champions Trophy, and to ensure that fingers can’t be pointed if the women fail to make the cut for Paris 2024?
The release says the team welcomed the appointment. While that is natural, it is also important to ask the more important question – did the team ask for it ahead of the Asian Games? If so, what happened then? Perhaps we could get a clarification going forward.