When Sjoerd Marijne bid adieu to the Indian women’s hockey team in 2021, he left as the coach who almost pulled off a miracle and an Olympic medal. His return last month was preceded by off-field issues and accompanied by doubts on the team’s future and the burden of expectations of an encore.
The Dutchman, however, is categorical that the girls are in far better shape this time around than when he first took charge in 2017. “I rank the talent I have now higher than when I arrived in 2017. And that doesn’t mean it will be easy to achieve the same results because I also see other countries becoming better,” Marijne said in his first media interaction since taking charge of the camp in Bengaluru.
“There’s very good talent in the team, we have a mix of young and experienced players and everybody has to fight for their position. I know the expectations are very high but it’s a nice challenge,” he added.
He has already pruned the probables to 29 and is clear on his targets.
“The most important thing is to create a unit and bring back the culture of working together, bring over my knowledge and the way of playing in a short time for the World Cup Qualifiers and to get to know the players. The big aim, of course, is to qualify for LA28,” he said.
Marijne also stressed that the team’s fitness was much better.
“The fitness is much further than where we started in 2017 in intensity and tactics. We have more speed and agility and they are a lot more responsive.”
He, however, did indicate that things would be different in terms of dynamics. “All 29 players we have in the squad are important for me. There will be no more attention to the captain or seniors. I have also told the girls who once were with me that what happened in the past is gone, your level at this moment is what counts. I also explained to the younger girls that we don’t have to be best friends.
“For me, it’s about performance and behaviour. The challenge with young players is that their level keeps oscillating. The seniors have to make them better but the better the youngsters become, the better the seniors must get.”
Published – February 04, 2026 05:50 pm IST
