NEW DELHI: It's always interesting to study how players are perceived differently when one coach makes way for another. But it's also true that coaches deserve the benefit of doubt when it comes to managing players who are in the twilight of their careers, particularly when it comes to the greats and the legends. That is always a difficult task. The history of world sports is littered with such examples. India's hockey icon and former captain Rani is the latest who finds herself in that situation -- performing exceptionally and still out of the national team, but not giving up on another comeback.
Since the historic Olympic high of a fourth-place finish for an Indian women's hockey team in Tokyo, Rani has found herself more out of than in the core group's top 18 or 20 players, who play international fixtures. Interestingly, it has coincided with the baton of the Chief Coach changing hands. Sjoerd Marijne quit after the Tokyo Games in 2021 and his assistant Janneke Schopman was promoted to take over the reins.
