It turned out to be an exceptionally great month for the Indian hockey fans. Rarely do they get to rejoice victories don’t come often, and titles are rarer. But June was a month of celebration, with the women’s team completing a Series Finals double in Hiroshima eight days after the men won in Bhubaneswar. Rare as it may be, this was surprisingly the second time in two years that both the senior national teams were victorious at the same time in October-November 2017, India completed the Asia Cup double.

The Asia Cup title, their first major victory in a long time, gave the women the confidence that they could win again. But they were also desperate to prove that it was not a fluke. It took more than a year-and-a-half for that win to come. However, all the tournaments during that period were windows into the team’s progress.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where they finished fourth, India showed they could also compete at the world level. They stunned England in the pool stage and showed fight in their 1-0 loss to Australia in the semifinals. But the 3-2 loss to lower-ranked Wales highlighted their inconsistency. In the Asian Games, they conceded only three goals. They had an all-win record before the loss in the final.

For a developing team, the first step towards achieving consistency is to improve its defence. In the modern game, defending is a collective responsibility every player, from a defender to a forward, has a crucial role. For that to work, fitness, experience and understanding are major factors.

It was the same for India. By qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, first time since 1980, the women’s team seized everyone’s attention. Though the spotlight didn’t last, the feat got them the respect they needed. They got a better support group, which included the addition of a tactical coach, a greater number of foreign tours and Sjoerd Marijne, who had formerly coached a world No. 1 side the Netherlands. Better training meant the players’ skill level improved; more matches meant exposure; having played together for a long period, their understanding improved; and the rise in fitness level meant that the team’s intensity didn’t drop towards the end of a match.