Sjoerd Marijne says he could perhaps only have dreamt about winning the Asian Games gold when he took up the role of the Indian women’s team coach in January, but not even in his wildest dreams would it have played out the way it eventually did.

Even as a foreign national, he understands how monumental the achievement is. “You wrote history. You have created a legacy,” the Dutchman told the girls after they scripted history at the Gifu Prefecture just two days ago.

While it won’t be forgotten easily, not many would have envisaged this happening at the start of the year. But in the span of over eight months, Marijne has staged an unbelievable turnaround. The team secured World Cup qualification, earned Pro League promotion, and finished fifth in the World Cup before topping it off with an Asiad gold.

And he and his team have barely had time to celebrate, except for a wholesome dinner sitting on the floor of their hotel rooms, before flying back to their respective homes.

Speaking from the Netherlands, Marijne tells Sportstar about the side’s transformation, the nervy final against China, the road ahead to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, the uncertainty over the Hockey India League (HIL) and more.

Q: Sjoerd, you only returned to the job in January after four years. It’s been quite a turnaround in the space of eight months…

A: Yeah, you dream about those things, and you never know if it happens. I was not looking that far. When I arrived, I was busier.

‘How does the group look like? What is their quality? How are they with each other? How is the whole team environment and the team dynamics?’ – when you’re working really hard on these points, then you’re not thinking, ‘Oh, can we win the Asian Games, or can we do really well at the World Cup?’ That is the ultimate goal. But then you immediately go to day-to-day work and figure what is required to build a team.

After the World Cup, the defence was tightened. Before the start of the Asian Games, what had to improve?

I think one of the things was we had to be stronger with the ball and create more opportunities against countries like Singapore and Thailand. They are easier [opponents], with all respect to these countries, because the difference is just too big. But it also needs to be done against Japan, Korea and China, and I think we did that well.

In the final match, we defended more. We were stronger without the ball than with the ball because it was China. That is another thing that we need to improve in the following years.

In the beginning, when I arrived, we had a vision of how we want to be and how the team needs to be. We are working on those points every tournament, and the main thing for us is working on ourselves and finding out what we need to do well and how one becomes the best version of oneself.

You mentioned the attack was something we needed to improve. But can you maybe go into the specifics of what has changed? You scored 69 goals this tournament, including 30 from penalty corners…

Yeah, you don’t want to be depending only on PCs. That’s why you want to score [field] goals. For us, it was important that a lot of players scored.

Creating opportunities against the lower-ranked teams is easier than against Japan or Korea. But we also knew Japan and Korea also fall very far back.

They make the spaces small. They don’t allow you to really create a lot of opportunities and have a really crowded circle. That’s what you saw against the match of Korea. Then it’s important to stay patient. And these are very important topics for us, where we are constantly busy improving.

We do that with video analysis, individual meetings and line meetings.

READ: Asian Games 2026 Review: Two different journeys, one golden finish for Indian hockey

In the last 12 months alone, India has played China thrice. And in all three matches, India took the lead first. India lost the first game (Asia Cup final 2025) and drew the next (2-2 in World Cup). Was that discussed before the final on what to do differently if that scenario played out in the final?

In the last eight months, our defence has been about our basics. That’s where we can fall back on. That needs to always be good, which comes with unity and discipline. Keep doing the easy work over and over.

That’s what you can do always. It doesn’t matter if the weather is not good or you don’t agree with referees or these kinds of things. That’s what you can do always. That’s what we have spoken about.

We knew against China, we had to make it [space] really small. They have good-quality players. We have to be patient for when our chance comes. That came pretty quickly [1-0 lead in 11th minute], and then they kept coming. That’s how those matches go.

But for us, it was important that we just stay calm in the defence, not doing strange things, which I think we did really well. If you see the fourth quarter, China only entered our circle twice with one shot from a very different angle. That’s exactly what we needed.

If you control the match that way in non-ball possession, you create more and more confidence.

This is India’s first Asian Games gold in 44 years. Success in the continent has been sporadic. How big of a moment is this for the women’s team?

I told the girls after the match, ‘Listen, you wrote history. You have created a legacy.’ People will never forget them anymore because this will always be in their memories because it doesn’t happen so much with the Indian women’s team.

At this moment, they will struggle to understand this. But years after when they have stopped [playing], they will see. They will still get invites for functions, and they will still be able to come in positions that can change something for the next generations.

I think it’s all about that and that’s what the girls will realise more and more.

Now having secured qualification for the Olympics, you have time on your hands. How do you go about continuing to raise the standards of this team?

Now there are a few things that we are going to do. I will discuss those things when I first address the team. But it’s a long time [to go for the LA Olympics] and players will be older by two years.

So, new challenges can come up now. It’s not like, ‘Okay, we won the Asian Games gold, and everybody’s going to the Olympics.’ The Olympics has only 18 players, 16 who can play and two reserve players. This time [at the Asian Games] there were 20. There are talents coming up, and there will be competition.

So, different challenges will come up now. We only have one tournament before the Olympics, and that’s in one and a half months – the Asian Champions Trophy. For the next two years, there are no tournaments. We have the Pro League. So, we’re building the programme now and seeing what way we can face those challenges and get the best out of the girls.

That’s something I’m looking forward to because it’s not ‘What if we go to the Olympics?’. Now it is ‘We are going to the Olympics.’ The first step has been made.

The girls have been working hard, but it will not be enough for the next step of the Olympics.

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You had 10 players, both at the World Cup and the Asian Games, who were playing for the first time. How important was it to integrate these young players into this team?

I always like different ages in a group. I think that it’s a mix of experiences. We have young girls, experienced players and senior players.

It needs to be a good mix, and the senior players need to really lead by example. The experienced players have to do the same, but they have to grow with the senior group.

The young players need to go to the experienced players’ group.

Baljeet was not there in the Nations Cup, but now she played in the Asian Games. The main thing for young girls is to get that moment where they’re becoming consistent.

The HIL has also been an important part in these young players’ development. But there’s a lot of uncertainty over the women’s league going forward. How crucial is it for you as a coach to continue having a wider talent pool for you to choose from?

No, it will be crucial. That’s why I hope the HIL will go on for the women. The first step has been made; now you see what it can lead to.

So, I hope that franchises also see this. It’s about giving an opportunity to talent to play with international players and the senior players from India to learn from them.

What were the celebrations like after you won the gold medal?

Yeah, we came very late to the hotel, and we ordered food. In the hotel, we were all on the same floor. We were on the ground eating Indian food. It was really good, and we were chatting with each other. But the next day itself we had to fly home.

I’m now in the Netherlands. The girls went to Bengaluru. From there they went to their homes.

The real celebration hasn’t happened yet. I think it will happen. But for now, it’s something that is in our memories.

Published on Oct 05, 2026