EXCLUSIVE: 'I expect the team to be fearless at Tokyo Olympics,' says Indian women's hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne

The Indian Hockey team will compete in its second consecutive Olympics in Tokyo. And the expectations from the team, led by Rani Rampal, have risen due to improved fitness, better match awareness, competitiveness, and their recent display of skills against stronger opponents.

Hyderabad: Indian women's hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne wants his team to be "fearless" and play "freely" when they take the court at Tokyo Olympics. "The results will follow," he says.

The team will compete in its second consecutive Olympics in Tokyo. And the expectations from the team led by Rani Rampal have skyrocketed due to improved fitness, better match awareness, competitiveness, and their recent display of skills against stronger teams.

India's best came at the Summer Games in 1980 Moscow Olympics where they finished fourth.

The Dutch coach tells Etv Bharat that India do have the potential to be the Dark Horse but they will be realistic at the same time. The coach wants his team to enjoy the biggest sporting event on the planet as his players brace themselves for a massive challenge that awaits them in Tokyo.

Excerpts:

Q. Fitness is something that has improved remarkably in the Indian hockey team. How would you compare their fitness with other strong teams?

A. Our fitness is good but I don't know how the other teams are doing. I haven't seen them training. I wouldn't compare it with other countries. Fitness will be extremely crucial in Tokyo. Everybody will be ready in the first match and you will have to wait and see how are they going to fair until the last match. They have trained throughout the year and everyone in this team is very fit.

Q. Only two teams are below the Indian team in rankings at the Olympics. Do you think this team can be the dark horse and surprise everyone?

A. Of course this team can be the dark horse in the Olympics. We have all the confidence. We know the rankings, but we don't feel the rankings. When we play a higher-ranked team, we don't think of being a lower-ranked team. It's just because we have the confidence and on that particular day, rankings don't matter when the match is there. The expectations from this Indian women's team is very high at the moment. Only two teams are lower ranked. We are also trying to be realistic. We will play match by match. We have confidence in our quality and that's the most important thing for me.

Q. The tournament is huge. Mental strength also comes into play. Do you think participating in the Olympics is going to be mentally challenging for the team as well?

A. Yes, absolutely. You play against the number one in the first match followed by number two of the world. These are challenging matches. If you win, you should be happy and if you don't, you should stay calm. You have to know how to deal with your emotions. We have spoken with the team about it as well. Even if you lose a match, the tournament is not finished yet. You have to play the next match as well. But if you are affected by the first match that you lost, it's not going to help you in the next game.

Q. The team performed extremely well in Argentina and Germany tours. What are your takeaways? Do you think this performance will give them the confidence required for the Olympics?

A. I think we played very well against Germany and Argentina. We gained a lot of confidence. We were not effective enough and they were. That's why Germany won the first match against us with a big score. But if you see the opportunities that were created, the scorecard could have been the other way around. In Olympics, it's about whether you are making the most of your opportunities and against the Netherlands, you may not get these many opportunities. You might get 2,3 opportunities and if you don't score, it will be very difficult. And it's the same against a lot of countries. You have to be executing and that will be the challenge.

Q. Aside from fitness, is there any other aspect of the game that has remarkably improved in this team?

A. We have improved in every area. Considering the mental side, we have changed the culture of the team. We take matches one at a time. We discuss matches, we have our team meetings. There is much more ownership in the team. We have improved a lot in the mental, technical and physical side of the game.

Q. Did it get difficult for you when the team got affected by Covid?

A. I have a good staff who manages all this. They all have done very well. But the thing is, in those times, you are not in control of the situation. You have to be patient and I was calm. I knew we had enough time to regain fitness. It was a setback but we managed it pretty well.

Q. What do you expect from this team in the Olympics?

A. I want them to play freely. I expect them to give their 100 percent in their matches. I expect them to play fearlessly. If all this happens, results will follow.

Q. And an Olympic medal maybe?

A. You never know. If you know any future teller, let me know. There is always a chance. I am not saying we don't. We have been playing well, the benchmark has been very high. But other teams are doing the same things. We are not the only ones.

--Ayushmaan Pandey