Why Yibbi Jansen, the game’s foremost drag-flicker, is central to Odisha Warriors’ quest for title

When Yibbi Jansen was around 12 years old, she had a conversation with her father Ronald – a two-time Olympic champion with the Netherlands in 1996 and 2000 – that would play a significant role in her career.
“I looked at the national team and told my dad, ‘I really want to make this. I want to get in the national team’,” Yibbi told The Indian Express. “And he said, ‘Okay, but if you really want it, you should have something extra. If they choose between two players, why would they choose you?’ That’s when I started doing the drag flick because, if they could choose between two people and I had the drag flick, they would always choose me. So that’s why… I started with lots of training for the flicks and just never stopped.”
In 2025, Yibbi – 25 years old – is the game’s foremost drag flicker in the world. She is a significant reason why the all-conquering Netherlands women’s hockey team was able to dig themselves out of a tough situation in the Paris Olympics final against China, scoring the equaliser with less than 10 minutes to go, as they went on to win gold. Her drag flicks have also been central to Odisha Warriors reaching the Women’s Hockey India League final, where they will take on JSW Soorma Hockey Club on Sunday in Ranchi.
Drag flicks might be dominating men’s hockey in recent years but in the women’s game, it is not as widely prevalent. This is why former India head coach Janneke Schopman went all out to ensure Odisha signed up Yibbi at the auction for Rs 29 lakhs, the second-highest bid. Sample this: in the league phase, Yibbi scored five goals from Penalty Corners which is the same as the rest of the three teams combined.
Yibbi, the 2024 FIH women’s player of the year, is central to the Netherlands’ success in international hockey, having scored 75 goals in 86 matches so far. Funnily enough, however, Ronald Jansen, despite being an Olympic champion in hockey, wanted his daughter to take up football. Yibbi grew up in Gremonde and had two brothers who played football. Ronald thought it was easier to get them all playing a sport where it was easier to start young. But Yibbi’s mother was quick to say no to that. Yibbi must play hockey, she insed. “I’m really happy she did that,” Yibbi said. Her grandmother helped the process along, as Ronald told FIH that the promise of a new bike made Yibbi take it seriously.
“When I was young, I was a bit of a shy girl. When I had to change teams. I was too shy to meet a new team. My mom tried many times, it wasn’t that she was forcing me; I just really wanted to, but I didn’t dare. Then my grandma came with me to the training. I really wanted a bicycle; it was an orange one. She said, “Okay, maybe if you do the hockey training today, you get it.” So I finished the training,” Yibbi recalled with a smile.
What has made her so successful as a drag-flicker? “I started around 12 which was young, and that helps. It’s a really specific movement, so if you start young, you can always adjust the small bits technically. I also started looking at the men’s technique to understand why they could do it so much better than girls. The body movement gives so much speed to the men. They rotate their chest at a high speed. So, I incorporated that into my drag flick and I am still trying to improve it,” said Yibbi who continues to work with her childhood PC coach Toon Siepman even now.
Key battle on Sunday
Her drag-flicking ability will be central to Odisha’s hopes of clinching the title but Soorma won’t make it easy. In the two league matches between the two sides, Yibbi didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet and Soorma also have the excellent Savita Punia guarding the posts. On the flip side, Soorma – who topped the league stage and scored the most goals – have struggled to convert Penalty Corners, scoring just one so far.
“We’ll keep trying, eventually we got to focus on our strengths as well,” former Idnia goalkeeper and Soorma head coach Jude Menezes said. “PCs have not been working out, yes, but we have scored the most number of field goals in the tournament as well (12). We are working on our good areas, if we were struggling in both departments then I’d be concerned. We’d love to score PCs, but it’s not all bad. And the reason for our attack is built on a solid defence, it starts at the back.”
The first women’s HIL final will likely come down to who executes their strong suits better. Soorma – led Belgium’s Charlotte Englebert – will carry a significant field goal threat, but Odisha will know they can count on the game’s most explosive drag flicker to deliver under pressure. Yibbi, after all, has done it on the biggest of stages already.