New Delhi, August 11

Indian women’s hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne, leaving the team after playing a key part in scripting history at the Tokyo Olympics, has said it is important for the team to play top teams in high-pressure games on a consistent basis.

“You believe in yourself and that’s where it starts. Then you have to work really hard, be disciplined in what you do or otherwise you are not achieving anything. And then it’s about dealing with the pressure,” he said.

“The women’s team does not always face that pressure. The last was in Olympics qualifiers two years ago. So we have come really far and that’s what makes me proud in what we achieved,” he said, referring to the fourth-place finish at Tokyo. “We don’t have tournaments (for women) in the country, no Pro League, no HIL but still we made it so far.”

Marijne said though he is leaving, he has developed a lifelong connection with India. “That will never go away and there are many more ways through which I can do something for India,” he said. “The girls are in my hearts and will never forget them.”

Tokyo feat

Under Marijne, the Indian women did the unthinkable in the Tokyo Olympics, reaching the semifinals for the first time ever by stunning Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals. The Indians narrowly missed out on a bronze, losing 3-4 to Great Britain in the playoff.

“I am proud of what we have achieved as a team, the legacy we have created. I am extremely happy for the girls because they now can feel what it is to have success,” Marijne said. “I am proud of how close we were in matches against Great Britain and Argentina. It was not a walkover. The fighting in the last match, coming back… It shows the new Indian women’s team. They never gave up and it is something that has changed over the years. That’s an effort of the girls and the whole staff. You need time for this kind of things.”

Decision to go

The 47-year-old Dutchman said it was long back that he decided to return home after the Olympic Games. “I wrote a post in my website on 7th of September 2020 where I already announced that after Olympics I will go home and spend time with my family,” Marijne said.

He was “overwhelmed” with the love and respect he had received during his stay in India. “I wrote a whole book about my journey in India but it is not yet complete. The last chapter is there to be added, this Olympic chapter,” he said. — PTI

Still upset over 2018 transition

Sjoerd Marijne still has hard feelings about the “disrespectful” transition in 2018, when he was shunted out from the men’s team. He came to India to take over the Indian women’s team in 2017 but was appointed the chief coach of the men’s side later that year. However, in 2018, he was re-designated as the women’s coach, and Junior World Cup-winning coach Harendra Singh took over the men’s side. “Of course, I was not really happy with the transition. I was not really happy with what happened, the way it happened with the men’s team and I don’t think that was fairly respectful,” Marijne said. “But the moment I returned back to women, Savita (goalkeeper) came to my room and said, ‘Listen, we are really happy you are back’. That moment for me was the changing moment. I felt OK, it’s good to be there again,” he added. He said if he had been given more time with the men’s team, he could have achieved a lot. “But people shouldn’t misunderstand me. It was not that I was disappointed to go back to women’s team, I was not happy the way they handled it with men’s team because I left on a really good moment,” Marijne said. “On one side you have the opportunity to work with the most challenging team in the world in Indian men and on the other I was doing Indian women and we were just going up.” “So it was a really difficult decision and I am happy how it ended. I am happy with what I did with the women’s team, so no grudges,” he said. At the Commonwealth Games, the Indian men’s team had lost to New Zealand in the semifinals and to England in the bronze medal playoff.