All posts tagged: Sjoerd

India must keep improving despite Nations Cup success, says Coach Sjoerd Marijne

India must keep improving despite Nations Cup success, says Coach Sjoerd Marijne

Published by Webster

Fresh off their unbeaten title-winning campaign at the 2026 FIH Women’s Nations Cup, Indian women’s hockey team head coach Sjoerd Marijne has stressed that the side cannot afford to stand still despite securing promotion to the FIH Pro League. Addressing the media alongside captain Salima Tete, Marijne highlighted goal conversion as one of the key areas that require improvement ahead of a busy international calendar featuring the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup and the Asian Games. “We create enough opportunities in every match, but we need to convert more of those chances into goals,” Marijne said. “At the same time, I am very happy with our defensive structure. We hardly gave away opportunities in the final and that discipline is the foundation of our game.” India defeated hosts New Zealand 2-0 in the Nations Cup final after an impressive unbeaten run that included victories over the USA, Japan, Uruguay and a 6-0 demolition of Chile in the semi-finals. Looking ahead to the World Cup and Asian Games, Marijne insisted the team’s focus remains on continuous …

Indian women’s hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne

Indian women’s hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne

Published by Webster

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 …

Sjoerd Marijne aims to improve India’s consistency as Asian Games, World Cup loom large

Sjoerd Marijne aims to improve India’s consistency as Asian Games, World Cup loom large

Published by Webster

4 min readMay 15, 2026 10:32 PM IST In a season packed with big-ticket events like the Asian Games and the World Cup, India’s women’s hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne is focused on minimising injuries and maintaining consistency. “When I took charge in January, my first step was to get rid of a lot of injuries. We were almost 14, and then the qualification for the World Cup was important, so there was no time for development, no time for managing the load, and after that, we had a really good tour to Argentina,” Marijne told the media in an interaction facilitated by SAI. India recently played out a 2-2 draw in a four-match Test series against the second-ranked Argentina, but has been plagued with injuries since the Dutchman returned as coach in January. Sangita Kumari and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke are currently out due to ACL injuries. “Argentina is No. 2 in the world, and we could get to know the benchmark of world hockey. The benchmark was very important from there on, we had …

Sjoerd Marijne and Tim White – Working in tandem to uplift Indian women’s hockey

Sjoerd Marijne and Tim White – Working in tandem to uplift Indian women’s hockey

Published by Webster

The Indian women’s hockey team has been in a slumber over the past few years. Ever since the team failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the unceremonious exit of the then coach Janneke Schopman, things have rarely looked up. At the start of a crucial 2026 season, which includes some high stakes tournaments like the FIH Women’s World Cup and the Asian Games, Hockey India have brought in two foreign coaches to reclaim their glory days of 2021 where they earned a historic fourth-place finish at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. Sjoerd Marijne, who led the team in Tokyo, was reappointed as the senior team head coach in January this year, while Tim White, who has enjoyed significant success in European and Australian circuit, was brought in to head the junior team earlier this month. Marijne and White are now working hand-in-hand to uplift Indian women’s hockey back to the elite level. “Any team that wants to be world class and have sustainable success, you have to have good collaboration between senior program …

Sjoerd Marijne aims to improve India’s consistency as Asian Games, World Cup loom large

Sjoerd Marijne’s India Blueprint: Inside the training, tactics and mindset shift driving women’s hockey team | Hockey News

Published by Webster

The stories travelled ahead of him. Long before Sjoerd Marijne gathered the current core of the Indian women’s hockey team, the younger players had already heard whispers. About the grind, the discipline, and most famously, the eight-hour training sessions in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics. So when Marijne now casually asks, “Do you have heavy legs?”, the response is almost rehearsed. “No, no, no, coach.” The sessions may not (yet) be as brutal, but the message has landed. Loud and clear. The old-timers in the team — the Lalremsiamis, Navneet Kaurs and Sushila Chanus — experienced this after they qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in late 2019. When the players reassembled for the national camp in Bengaluru, Marijne — unhappy with the lethargy shown in the qualifying match — scheduled a one-off eight-hour training session. It started at 8 in the morning and ended at 4 pm, with a short lunch break being the only downtime. For Marijne, the significance of that marathon session was never about punishment. It was about imprinting a mindset …

Hockey World Cup qualifiers: Debutants impress for India as Sjoerd Marijne’s new stint begins with a 4-0 win against Uruguay | Hockey News

Hockey World Cup qualifiers: Debutants impress for India as Sjoerd Marijne’s new stint begins with a 4-0 win against Uruguay | Hockey News

Published by Webster

4 min readNew DelhiMar 9, 2026 12:22 AM IST In his first major assignment back as the Indian women’s hockey team‘s head coach, Sjoerd Marijne wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his wards in their first match at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. “We just had one practice match. I am excited and curious to see what we do in this tournament,” the Dutchman said ahead of their campaign opener against Uruguay on Sunday in Hyderabad. And what he saw would have pleased him as a couple of youngsters making their senior debut impressed in a 4-0 win. Ishika (40′), who was part of the recent Junior World Cup squad along with Sunelita Toppo (21′), Lalremsiami (49′), and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (58’) made it a comfortable outing against the South American side. Four minutes into the first quarter, Rutuja dribbled into the circle and won the first Penalty Corner. India employed a variation first up, with Navneet Kaur slipping the ball behind her for Udita. But her shot was deemed to be …

India in high spirits for Sjoerd Marjine’s first test – Preview

India in high spirits for Sjoerd Marjine’s first test – Preview

Published by Webster

The Indian women’s hockey team finds itself at a critical juncture. Ever since they missed out on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics two years ago, things have been far from ideal. First, head coach Janneke Schopman stepped down with a string of allegations against Hockey India administration. Harendra Singh, who was brought in to replace Schopmann, blooded in a few youngsters, but failed to have the desired impact. Under Singh’s watch, India were relegated from the FIH Pro League to the FIH Nations League and finished second best at the Asia Cup. The latter meant that the team missed out on a direct qualification for the 2026 FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup. Singh’s tenure, meanwhile, came to an abrupt end with players within the setup unhappy with his working style. He stepped down from the position, but reports suggested he was pushed out. Sjoerd Marijne’s first assignment Amidst the chaos, Hockey India fell back to a familiar face to pull the women in blue out of the slump. In came Sjoerd Marijne as the …

Salima Tete retains captaincy for FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers as returning head coach Sjoerd Marijne names his first squad | Hockey News

Salima Tete retains captaincy for FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers as returning head coach Sjoerd Marijne names his first squad | Hockey News

Published by Webster

Salima Tete will continue to lead the Indian women’s hockey team as Hockey India on Sunday announced a 20-member squad for the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers to be held in Hyderabad from 8 to 14 March, the last chance to qualify for the marquee tournament later this year. This will be Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne’s first official assignment after being reappointed as head coach. A couple of notable absentees from the squad are former captain Savita Punia and forward Deepika. The Indian Express understands Savita made herself unavailable for personal reasons while drag-flicker Deepika, who missed the Asia Cup last year due to an injury, is in rehab and hasn’t made the cut to the main squad. india finished second at the Women’s Asia Cup after losing to China in the final and missed out on automatic qualification to the World Cup. Hosts India, England, Scotland, Korea, Italy, Uruguay, Wales, and Austria will be competing for three qualification spots at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026 set to be held in August. The …

‘It is not a punishment camp’: Sjoerd Marijne on restoring culture and trust in Indian women’s hockey | Hockey News

‘It is not a punishment camp’: Sjoerd Marijne on restoring culture and trust in Indian women’s hockey | Hockey News

Published by Webster

Sjoerd Marijne is unambiguous about the task confronting him on his return to India. “To create a unit,” he says plainly. This isn’t the usual, run-of-the-mill cliche coaches often reach for. For the Dutchman, the problem is real. Marijne didn’t publicly lay bare the team’s internal issues, but he also didn’t completely gloss over the state of the dressing room. “I told all the girls, what happened in the past is the past,” Marijne, who began his third stint as the Indian women’s hockey team coach last month, says. “We don’t have to be best friends. We have fun together but also work really hard together. For me, it’s about performance and behavior. I also feel the girls need moments where they have joy and enjoy what they’re doing. It’s not a punishment camp.” Those two lines — ‘we don’t have to be best friends’ and ‘it’s not a punishment camp’ — did not emerge in a vacuum. They are rooted in the fragile team environment that had taken shape under previous coach Harendra Singh. …

As Sjoerd Marijne returns to take over Indian women’s team in disarray, a serious challenge awaits with World Cup qualification looming

As Sjoerd Marijne returns to take over Indian women’s team in disarray, a serious challenge awaits with World Cup qualification looming

Published by Webster

And so, Sjoerd Marijne takes over from Harendra Singh once again. When this happened the last time – in 2018 – it turned out to be a transformative moment for women’s hockey in India. The Dutchman will hope to have a similar impact again as he returns for a third stint with the team. Marijne, the mastermind of the Indian women’s hockey team’s best-ever fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, was re-appointed as the chief coach on Friday after Harendra resigned last month. Hockey India officials said Marijne was approached after senior players recommended his name to lead the team out of the current mess, like he did the last time when he took over a side that had finished at the bottom in the Rio Olympics. The 51-year-old Dutchman, who has coached clubs in the Netherlands and was a part of the backroom staff of their all-conquering women’s national side since he left India, will have a power-packed staff to support him. By his side, as the analytical coach, will be former Argentine international …