Tokyo Olympics 2020: 'Just bring Gold on your way back', Sjoerd Marijne, Shah Rukh Khan exchange friendly banter after women's historic win

Just hours after the India men’s hockey team secured a place in the semi-finals on Sunday at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020, the India women’s team, led by Rani Rampal, followed the men’s footsteps with a resounding 1-0 win over Australia in the quarter-finals.

This was the first time that the women’s hockey team advanced to the last-four, where they will play Argentina on Wednesday.

And following their historic last-eight win, team coach Sjoerd Marijne posted an image with the players on Twitter, which he captioned, ‘Sorry family, I coming again later’.

Sorry family , I coming again later 😊❤️ pic.twitter.com/h4uUTqx11F

— Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) August 2, 2021

Replying to this, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who acted as coach ‘Kabir Khan’ in the famous fictional sports-drama film Chak De! India, tweeted: “Haan haan no problem. Just bring some Gold on your way back….for a billion family members. This time Dhanteras is also on 2nd Nov. From: Ex-coach Kabir Khan.”

Haan haan no problem. Just bring some Gold on your way back….for a billion family members. This time Dhanteras is also on 2nd Nov. From: Ex-coach Kabir Khan. https://t.co/QcnqbtLVGX

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 2, 2021

Thanking Shah Rukh for the words of encouragement, the ‘Real Coach’ Marijne vowed that the team would give ‘everything again’. He tweeted: “Thank you for all the support and love. We will give everything again. From: The Real Coach.”

Thank you for all the support and love. We will give everything again.
From: The Real Coach. 😉 https://t.co/TpKTMuFLxt

— Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) August 2, 2021

Gurjit Kaur, the team’s designated drag-flicker, scored the only goal of the game during the second quarter, which eventually knocked out World No 2 Australia.

India are already assured of three medals this Olympics, surpassing their tally of two from Rio Games in 2016. While weightlifter Mirabai Chanu returned home with a silver medal after ending as runner-up in the 49 kg category, shuttler PV Sindhu inspired millions across India as she clinched bronze medal on Sunday, beating China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal match.

The India men’s hockey team will take on world champions Belgium in the semi-finals on Tuesday.