Sjoerd Marijne had no hesitation in saying that the Indians will have to perform a lot more better in the Asian Games than they did in the World Cup, simply because it will not be enough to clinch a podium finish
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File photo of Sjoerd Marijne(Credits: IANS)
Celebrations of the Indian team’s recent success at the recently concluded FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 can wait as the side, which finished fifth in the quadrennial competition last month, still has a lot of work needed to be done.
That’s what Indian women’s hockey team’s head coach Sjoerd Marijne said during a recent chat with the media that was facilitated by the Sports Authority of India in its training centre at BengaluruMarijne made it clear that the team can enjoy and savour their journey later in order to focus on the upcoming challenge of the 2026 Asian Games at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
“I just got a text from a friend asking about the celebrations, given we did well at the World CupBut the celebrations have to waitWe can enjoy afterwardsThings are going very fast, and we have to move on to the next one,” Marijne said.
The women’s team earned its best-ever finish at the FIH Hockey World Cup in more than 50 years and it was an effort worth remembering for the Salima Tete-led sideThey did fall short of winning the title for the first time but they secured a dominating result against world number five Germany in the fifth/sixth place match by 3-1.
Now, less than a month later, the attention has automatically shifted to the Asian Games where India claimed a Bronze in the previous edition three years agoSjoerd Marijne had no hesitation in saying that the Indians will have to perform a lot more better in the Asian Games than they did in the World Cup, simply because it will not be enough to clinch a podium finish.
“We paused and reflected on what we achievedI told the girls to be very proud of what we’ve doneBut we need to go further and do better than at the World CupWhat we did there may not be enough at the Asian GamesThey need to stay focused,” Marijne added.
Olympic berth top priority
Sjoerd Marijne also admitted that he feels India are top contenders for the gold medal but what’s more important to him is the automatic LA 2028 Olympic berthIn order to do so, Marijne claimed that the players must give their best in each and every match.
“I know the expectations are higherWe are a very strong contender for goldBut before the gold medal, we need to win other matchesThat’s why we must give our best every dayOf course, you go into a tournament to achieve the highest reward, and that is an Olympic berth,” Marijne concluded.
The preparations are on full swing for the Indian women’s team, which apparently cannot have a single cheat meal day until their objective at the Asian Games are fulfilledHockey will start from September 18 and end on October 3 at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.
