New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) After lifting the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2025-26 in New Zealand, members of the Indian women’s hockey team’s drag-flicking unit have credited the specialised training camp conducted by Dutch legend Taeke Taekema, whose expertise proved to be a key factor behind their improved penalty-corner execution through the tournament.

Taekema, one of the finest drag-flickers in world hockey history, joined the Indian team during their preparatory tour of Australia in May and continued working with the squad’s drag-flickers through their time in New Zealand ahead of the Nations Cup, under its chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.

As a result of their hard work in the camps, India scored 13 goals from penalty corners through the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup New Zealand 2025-26. Deepika finished as the tournament’s joint-top scorer with six goals, all of them converted from penalty corners.

Reflecting on the camp, Deepika said, “The dragflicking camp this time was a lot more detailed. We just didn’t work on the pitch, but also spent time watching videos of other teams to see how their defensive structure is, how the goalkeeper is positioned, and more details. That helped me a lot. Taekema has always been helping me understand these minute details. He also made me realise the importance of staying calm and focused in pressure situations – to execute my skills to the best of my abilities. The result is not always in our control, but we need to stick to our process and routines, even when things aren’t going our way.”

Lalthantluangi, who has also been working on building her drag-flicking abilities, spoke about the technical grounding the camp gave her game. “I have been particularly learning the drag flick. As a beginner, it has been a fantastic challenge. Coordinated movements — like body rotation and balance — rather than just using muscle, and for me, the important part is the pick-up point. I’ve had to break the technique down, watch countless breakdowns of my footwork, and practice consistently. It’s taught me a lot about patience, the value of learning from my mistakes, and how to stay disciplined and focused while practising.”

“Taeke is incredibly patient. He understands me very well. His calm helped me when I was struggling with my technique, allowing me to process and improve steadily”, she added.

Meanwhile, Annu highlighted that the camp gave her a stronger sense of belief heading into the tournament. “Training under someone with Taeke’s experience gave me a lot of confidence going into a tournament as big as the Nations Cup. It helped me trust my technique more and stay composed under pressure during crucial moments. Winning the title made all the hard work in those sessions feel worth it.”

–IANS

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