India, June 8 -- Harendra Singh's effect is clear every time the Indian women's hockey team steps on to the pitch now. The Salima Tete-led outfit is aggressive, with spurts of counterattacks down the flanks. The tactics resemble that of the Australia team. But that should come as no surprise considering that the India chief coach idolises Aussie great Ric Charlesworth's methods.

It has been a year since Harendra took over the team, after the low of the Indian women failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics, having promised a resurgence at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by finishing fourth. A youthful team is now slowly coming together as a unit ahead of bigger tests.

"We are a very good team, you can see that from the outside. This is a team w...