Focusing on specific areas we want to improve: Indian women’s hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne

When Sjoerd Marijne returned to the Indian women’s hockey team in January, there was little time to make any major changes as the side was already preparing for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad.

The team secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled from August 15-30 in Belgium and the Netherlands, after reaching the semifinals in Hyderabad.

Five months into his second stint, Marijne believes the team has made progress, especially in fitness, ahead of the FIH Nations Cup in Auckland from June 15 to 21.

“When I came on January 11, the first step was to get rid of a lot of injuries. We had almost 40. Then, qualification for the World Cup was important, so there was no time for development or fitness work. It was about managing the load,” Marijne said during a media interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India.

After the qualifiers, India toured Argentina, where the team got the opportunity to test itself against one of the world’s top sides.

“We had a small window to work on fitness, and it was important for the girls to understand what we expect from them. In this camp, we focused a lot on fitness and made a good step there,” he said.

Led by captain Salima Tete, the Indian team will head to Australia for a preparatory tour before heading to Auckland.

“Australia plays a different style compared to Argentina, so it’s good for us to experience that. Every tournament and every match is a small step towards being at our best for the Asian Games. It’s not only about the Asian Games, but we want to perform well at every stage. But we are focusing on specific areas where we want to improve a lot,” Marijne said.

“You cannot build fitness in one or two months without increasing the risk of injuries, so we want to avoid that. All these tournaments will help us identify where we need to improve, what we are doing well, and how we cope with strong opponents. At the end, of course, the Asian Games is where we want our biggest performance this year,” he added.

On his second stint, Marijne said the setup has improved significantly and now has a bigger support staff to manage the team better.

“More young girls are involved in the programme and are making the step to the senior team. I now have a bigger support staff. Earlier we had five or six people but now we have 10-12 with specialist coaches,” he said.

Marijne also believes the current squad has the potential to compete strongly, saying "Do I think we have the potential to go far? Yes, absolutely. The girls are working really hard and understanding more and more what we want. But more than predictions, it is about belief and I believe we can achieve it."