‘People don’t always know the real story’: Sjoerd Marijne responds to questions over pre-World Cup leave

NEW DELHI: India women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has defended his decision to take leave shortly before the FIH World Cup, insisting his absence did not compromise the team’s preparations and that he remained closely involved in the build-up to the tournament.Marijne’s decision to take leave before the World Cup had come under scrutiny in a section of the media, with legendary former India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh questioning whether a team could perform at its best when its chief coach was away during the final phase of preparation.India eventually finished fifth at the World Cup, putting together a creditable campaign after entering the tournament with several challenges, including injuries.Marijne, however, said his leave did not mean he was disconnected from the team or unaware of what was happening during the preparation period.“I have seen every training, match, done meetings and had personal contact with the players, so it was not that I didn’t know what was going on,” Marijne told PTI in an interview after India’s World Cup campaign.“People don’t always know the real story and that’s fine as long as we know what we have done and we covered everything. Besides this also the staff which was there and helped them to prepare for the World Cup,” he said.

Marijne wants India to keep raising the bar

Marijne, who returned for his second stint as India’s coach in January, said the fifth-place finish should not become the ceiling for the team. Instead, he wants the players to retain the hunger that helped them transform from an injury-hit side into a competitive World Cup unit.“It has been a journey with many ups and this is what we have to continue, but that’s only possible when we stay hungry and eager to get the best out of ourselves and not take things easy.“Keep raising the bar, and expect more and more from the team. Growing is a daily process and also staying connected with each other,” he said.The Dutchman said his second stint began differently from his first spell because the current group already had experience of playing against higher-ranked teams and competing at major tournaments.“This is a team which has players who already had played against high-ranked teams and experienced to play big tournaments. In the beginning we didn’t have this and these girls also knew me, how I coach and prepare the team. They already had shared this with the younger girls. This made it easier to have a quick start,” he said.

From ‘I’ to ‘we’: Marijne’s focus on team identity

Marijne identified rebuilding the team’s collective identity as his immediate priority after returning to the setup.“The main challenge was to make again a team and change the mindset to ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ and bring back discipline,” he said.He also believes he returned to India as a more mature coach after spending the intervening years working with and guiding other coaches.“I have been in India, I know better how things are working and what works with coaching an Indian team. I have guided coaches the last years and that also helped me to reflect myself and become a better coach,” he said.The coach hopes the team’s World Cup performance can also generate greater interest in women’s hockey in India.“If I see the reactions, people are positive and follow the team. I hope we inspire young kids to also start playing hockey,” he said.