Hockey Olympic Qualfiers: US coach hails players' passion, determination, commitment after booking a ticket to Paris

Ranchi: David Passmore, the Irish head coach of the United States women's field hockey team, on Thursday, hailed his players for their determination and commitment to the sport as his team clinched its ticket to the Olympic Games after a gap of eight years.

Passmore was very emotional as his players erupted in joy after the final hooter signalled their come-from-behind 2-1 against Japan in the semifinals of the Women's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro-Turf Hockey Stadium here.

The Americans have a centralised training system in the absence of a professional league for field hockey in the country. The players take time off their work and studies to train and play hockey on weekends. To get such a motley group to make it back to the Olympics is a great achievement both for the players and the coaching staff.

The Americans won back the Olympic spot in the same country in which they had lost the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The USA had lost to India in Bhubaneswar in 2019 and their entire programme had gone haywire because of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, when David Passmore, who has worked with Great Britain set up as an assistant coach to Danny Kenny and had also coached his home country Ireland, took charge around 16 months back, the players were nowhere at the standard they were expected to.

Passmore said the players worked really hard and followed diligently the entire programme to now clinch their berth in the Olympics.

"I can't really describe it and I'm still very emotional because, you know, I arrived 15-16 months ago in America and the group was very desperate. They were a long way off where they needed to be. But they're so determined, they're so committed. They bought into everything we tried to do with them," an emotional Passmore told the media after the match.

He also praised his entire support staff for their untiring work in galvanising the players for their big day.

"I've got a great staff group, we've got a great two great assistant coaches who really galvanised the team. They've all committed to centralise and we were never going to do it unless we had 24 players together," he said.

The USA had made it to the Olympic qualifiers as a heartbroken lot after missing out on a gold medal in the Pan-Am Games final, losing to a last-minute goal scored by Argentina that secured a 2-1 win for the Las Leonas.

But in Ranchi, they built on their defensive abilities as they topped Pool B ahead of hosts India and New Zealand, undefeated and without conceding a goal.

Passmore said Thursday's win and Qualification berth is not only for the 18 members of the squad that are here but also for all those that are part of the core group and the centralised training programme of the United States Field Hockey Association,

"This win isn't just for the 18 here, it's for all of those 24 players that have worked so hard," he said.

Asked what was his message to his players going into the final against a higher-ranked Japan squad, Passmore said it was just to be positive.

"I told them just to be positive, yeah, just to be patient and not to panic. And we were a bit panicky. We gave the ball away a bit but we just needed to be a bit more patient and trust that we were going to get chances, and win corners and that's what we did and thankfully everyone played their part," said Passmore.

Asked about the road ahead now that they have booked their ticket to Paris.

"Obviously it is a big tick off the box, but now leading into. So we're here in India for another four weeks (they have to play in the FIH Pro League). So as we can't go home because of the time difference, we will remain here. So we go to Goa for 9 days on Saturday and then we come back, we go to Bhubaneswar and then to Rourkela and then after that we'll give them over three or four weeks off and then meet for a camp," said Passmore.

The coach said they will also play another leg of Pro League matches before taking another small break and then assemble for a camp ahead of the Olympics.