Tokyo: The Indian women’s hockey team’s outgoing coach Sjoerd Marijne was all praise for Rani Rampal and her gutsy teammates. Sjoerd Marijne who quit his position Friday after India lost the bronze play-off match against Great Britain said that the Indian players deserve more international exposure. This will help them to build on their historic fourth-place finish at the Olympics. Marijne also said that the national federation must introduce a domestic league for women to assist their growth.
The 47-year-old Dutchman had earlier announced that he would no longer continue in his current job. Marijne cited personal reasons despite being offered an extension.
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Marijne asked Hockey India (HI) to organise more high-pressure games for the women’s side on home soil as well as abroad. It will only help to maintain continuity in the team’s progress.
“…We have to do the same thing like what men did in the last eight years, like Hockey India League if it’s possible, participating in the Pro League, organising tournaments in India for the women. These kind events will help,” Marijne said. “In the last 4-5 matches, we really faced pressure. We have to learn to deal with pressure by playing consistently against top teams. That’s what the girls need to take big steps,” the Dutchman added.
The outgoing coach said the women’s team should be treated at par with the men’s outfit when it comes to exposure. While India have a domestic league for men, there has been no such initiative yet for women.
“They (men’s team) have HIL, Pro League, tournaments in India and that is what the girls also need. They had these for 8-10 years and so they could climb up the ladder,” Marijne said commenting on the bronze medal that the men’s team won here Thursday.
“The more you play against the top countries the rankings will improve. We showed that we can do without those things. It will be great for women if they can have the same things as the men,” explained Marijne.
This was after the team surpassed all expectations by entering the semifinals of the Olympics for the first time. Marijne said his players are still emotional and haven’t yet realised the impact of their powerful performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
“…First the emotion is about losing, yeah you want to win, but I feel proud. I’m proud of the girls, how they again showed their fight and skills,” the Dutchman said.
“And I said to the girls, ‘Listen, I can’t take away your tears. No words will help for that. We didn’t win the medal, but I think we achieved something bigger, and it’s inspiring a country and making the country proud’. At this moment they are still emotional. When they reach India and see what they have done, then they will realise. We need to leave them at this moment. It takes time to come out of such a loss. …I think the world has seen another Indian team, and I’m really proud of that,” Marijne added.
Marijne also lavished praise on the players for their fighting spirit throughout the competition.
“And normally when the Indian women’s team are 0-2 behind they always go down 0-3, 0-4. However, now they keep fighting. We came back in the match, we even were one up. They kept fighting. I told them, ‘You just give everything you’ve got’. They did just that,” Marijne pointed out.
The coach hoped his players would get a grand welcome on their return home for the tenacity they showed in the Games despite narrowly missing out on a podium finish.
