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









