Former hockey captain Pritam Siwach criticises lack of trust in Indian female coaches

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Former national women's hockey team captain Pritam Siwach on Thursday criticised the lack of confidence in Indian female coaches within the country, emphasising that many still doubt their ability to guide the side successfully.

A Dronacharya Awardee and coach of the junior women's team that won silver at the 2012 Jr Asia Cup, Siwach has been nurturing talent at the Sonepat Hockey Academy since 2004.

"India is male-dominated country. They say that women have come a long way. But today also they don't trust that an Indian woman can coach the national team, though they readily bring in foreign female coaches," she remarked while speaking at the BBC 'Indian Sportswoman of the Year' nomination announcement.

A pioneer in women's hockey, Siwach was part of India's historic Commonwealth Games gold-winning team in 2002 and is also an Asian Games silver medallist in 1998.

She urged stakeholders to have confidence in Indian coaches, adding, "We should trust them. If we can prepare grassroots players for the national team, why can't we coach it?" While acknowledging the value of foreign coaches, she noted challenges such as language barriers, which leave players struggling to understand instructions during crucial moments.

"I'm not saying that foreign coaches are bad par phir toh hum unke peeche hi ho gaye na (foreign coaches are bad but then again we are following them). Get them, but there is a lot of talent in the country." "There is language barrier. We get two minutes break, and then foreign coaches come and talk, and players don't know what the coach just said," she added. PTI APA APA AH AH