Marijne’s masterplan: Team first, personal goals later

India players celebrate a goal during their 6-1 win over South Africa at the Women’s World Cup recently. PICS/HOCKEY INDIA

Somewhere between a few bites of his favourite chicken tikka with naan and screams of "Bhaago, bhaago… face karo… pass karo," thanks to the little Hindi he has picked up from his players, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne plotted the perfect resurgence of Indian women's hockey.

On Thursday night, the Salima Tete-led World No. 9 Indian side convincingly conquered World No. 5 Germany in a FIH World Cup classification match to register their best-ever fifth-place finish in 52 years.

Sjoerd Marijne

This, after impressive draws against much higher-ranked opposition - 2-2 against No. 4 China, 0-0 against No. 7 England, and 0-0 against No. 8 Australia - besides just one defeat, a 0-2 loss to No. 1 Netherlands.

Marijne, in his second stint as India women's coach, had guided the team to another historic fourth-place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during his previous term. Interestingly, though, when he took charge again in January, the women were a disjointed lot. Turning that around was key to this team's success.

"When I joined, the issue with this team was that some players were focused only on individual or personal goals. So, the first thing I did was make the players realise that team goals have to be everyone's priority. I explained to them that if they could achieve the team's goals, their individual goals would automatically be achieved. The players did this and realised for themselves that if they help each other, it also benefits them as individuals," Marijne, 52, tells mid-day from the Netherlands on Friday.

Inconsistent behaviour was another aspect Marijne tackled with a skillfully executed, tomahawk-like direct approach. "Whenever a player's behaviour was good, I always made it a point to appreciate them. Similarly, whenever a player showed bad behaviour, I made sure I addressed that with them personally," he reveals.

Camaraderie-building exercises also helped foster team unity. "We go for a lot of team dinners and many times, the girls themselves pick the restaurant. I always encourage the team to leave the training facility and spend time together outdoors. With the senior and junior players enjoying these outings equally, it enhances team bonding," says Marijne.

Next up for Marijne's Marauders is the Asian Games (September 19 to October 4 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan), where nothing less than gold will do, as that will confirm the team's tickets to America for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Our 2-2 draw with China has given us the confidence that we can win the gold medal in Japan. But having said that, my strategy has always been to focus on our own game rather than
that of the opposition, so we will continue to focus 90 per cent on ourselves and 10 per cent on the opponent," says Marijne.

The Dutchman was criticised for taking a short break in the build-up to this World Cup, with former India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh questioning how a team could fare well if its chief coach was away during the final stage of preparation. With a stern, sharp and short statement, Marijne clarifies: "Wherever I was [during that time], I was in total control of everything the girls were doing."

11
Total number of goals scored by Team India at this Hockey World Cup; they conceded six

Four
No of matches (out of six) in which the Indian hockey team conceded one or lesser goals

6-1
India's winning scoreline against South Africa recently - their biggest at a World Cup

One
No of defeats for Team India in six matches - they won two games and drew three