India vs. England in the FIH World Cup 2026 qualifiers. (Picture credit: HI) HYDERABAD: Coach Sjoerd Marijne got his second stint off to an impressive start as the Indian women qualified for this year’s World Cup without breaking a sweat.Despite losing 2-0 to England in the final of the FIH World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday night, the girls made a good name for themselves.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The Dutchman was impressed with his new batch, although it is still a work in progress. “We were focused and played a good match (final). But there are a lot of things we can improve, of course. This is our first tournament together,” Marijne said, adding that he wanted to see how the girls would react under pressure.“I saw how the girls reacted in the semi-finals and the final. I’m glad that we played against a good team in the final. I saw their performance under pressure, which you can’t do in training. You don’t create this pressure. So it was good. And then I saw a lot of things that I keep for myself,” he added.A mix of youth and experience, the team was fluid in midfield and formidable at the back. But despite winning 37 penalty corners, far more than their opponents, they managed to convert just six. They had four in the final. While the English converted their two computers, India hesitated. In the semi-finals, they converted only one of the nine PCs.However, Marijna was interested in how the girls created opportunities for themselves. “PC conversion is a problem. There is a lot of room for improvement. But I would worry if you are not creating chances. If you are not creating PCs, not breaking the lines, then we would really have a problem. But we created chances even under pressure. Technically we need to be better. Decision making needs to be better. We need to take better positions in the circle,” said the coach.Apart from the hat-trick against Wales, drag-flicker Navneet Kaur missed several chances. But together with Lalremsiami, she led the attack well. The midfield of Salim Tete, Sunelita Toppo and Sakshi Rana did a good job of holding the ball and feeding the forwards.The fact that the defense conceded just 10 penalty corners in five matches and England barely penetrated between the circles in the third and fourth quarters of the final showed just how effective Indian defenders Sushila Chanu, Udita, Nikki Pradhan, Manisha and Ishika were all week.Salima counted several positives. “With a bunch of new girls and a new coach, I thought it would be tough. But I’m happy with how we adapted. Whatever mistakes we made here, I’m sure we’ll fix them in the next tournament,” Salima added.
