Indian women’s hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne watched Chak De! Indian movie? It may sound like an unusual question to ask at a press conference, but for Indian women’s hockey, film and reality have often mirrored each other.
After all, the Dutchman was behind one of Indian women’s hockey’s greatest moments in recent times when the team stunned the world and secured fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Marijne was more than happy to hear the question and revealed that watching the film was one of the first things he did after taking charge of the Indian team for the first time in 2017.
“Of course I know the movie Chak De India. That was the first thing I did in 2017 to watch the movie. Then we made our own story of Chak De India,” Marijne told India Today during an interaction hosted by Sports Authority of India.
The reason for the question was simple. Like the hero of the blockbuster movie, Marijne once again finds herself tasked with restoring faith in Indian women’s hockey. during his second tenure.
In his first stint, apart from a memorable Olympic campaign in Tokyo, Marijne also led India to their best World Cup result in decades when the team reached the quarter-finals in 2018.
But ever since Marijne left after the Olympics, Indian women’s hockey has been trying to rediscover that same spark.
In 2022, the team finished ninth at the World Championships and also did not qualify for the Paris Olympics. Since then, both Janneke Schopman and Harendra Singh have tried out the job before moving on.
Now, Marijne returns to the side without former captain Rani Rampal, who is struggling to convert penalty corners at key moments and struggling with injuries.
CAN INDIA DREAM AGAIN?
However, signs suggest that another Chak De moment may still be waiting around the corner.
After securing qualification for the World CupThe Indian women traveled to face world number two Argentina in a four-match series. Against one of the strongest teams in the world, India managed to pull off impressive results, including a win and a draw.
Now comes the decisive part of the season. Ahead of the FIH Nations Cup in June, India will head to Australia for an exhibition tour.
Then come two tournaments that could shape this team’s future – the World Championships in August and the Asian Games in September, with the latter offering a path to the 2028 LA Olympics.
And Marijne believes that the changes are already visible not only in the team, but in the entire ecosystem around it.
“If you see the improvement from when I left to now, you see more younger girls coming into the program and making the step up to seniors. I think we have five girls now or even more that have made that step. That’s a big improvement.”
“Another improvement is the bigger staff. In the past I had five or six people, now we’re almost 10, 11, 12 with specialist coaches. I think it really helps us reach the players’ potential.”
“We’re really focused on making each individual better. I can’t do it alone, so we have a good team around the players,” Marijne said.
But can this Indian side really script another Chak De moment? Marijne remained realistic in his assessment, even though the belief within him was clear.
“What can we achieve? It’s always hard to say because teams like the Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium, the whole seven in the world are also developing. Everyone is developing their game.”
“If you saw in 2020, few women’s teams were playing high ball. Now everyone is playing high ball. Everyone is evolving.”
“It’s going to be close games. We’ve got China in the pool, England, teams that are really good. But do I think we have the potential to go far? Yeah, I’m really positive about that.”
“The girls are working really hard. They understand more and more what we want. I really believe we will achieve it,” said Marijne.
MARIJNE, JUST AS DEMANDING
If captain Salima Tete’s words are anything to go by, not much has changed for Marijne in his second stint.
The Indian skipper said the Dutchman remains the same demanding coach who expects the team to perform at the highest level every day. And for the players, this mentality slowly became the culture of the team itself.
“First of all, there’s not a lot of difference in coach from before. One thing about him is that he’s demanding. Coach expects us to perform at our level, and that’s something we have to meet. Whatever his demands are, we have to meet them. At the level we’re playing hockey at right now, those are the things we should be doing.”
“If I play my natural game freely, the coach also feels that this player is working hard. So whatever standards he demands from us, we have to meet them. And we have to work hard on the ground — there’s just no other option,” Salima said.
However, for Marijne, the second stint is not about restoring the past. It’s about building consistency.
The process has already seen legendary dragflicker Taeke Taekema working with the team, particularly on penalty corners, while sports science and specialist coaching have become a major focus behind the scenes.
“I want to improve everything because everything can be improved. Of course we want to improve PC attacks, but it’s generally what I said. For me it’s more about behavior, showing the same behavior every time.”
“Our habits have to get back to normal, that’s what we want to see, because I think a good structure leads to winning matches in the end and not the other way around.”
Marijne believes that every tournament and every tour is another small step towards building this identity.
“You want to make the theme perfect. And that’s what we want to do in Australia as well. Using the games from Australia to make us really good in the Nations Cup.”
“The Nations Cup is something you play for a professional league. So when you play for something, there’s always stress and tension as well. And I think it’s good to create that,” said Marijne.
The road ahead remains difficult. The world’s top teams continue to develop and India still has plenty of room for improvement.
But for the first time in a while, Indian women’s hockey feels like a team building again towards something special.
The famous trainer is back. The younger team is slowly finding confidence. And somewhere in the distance, another Chak De moment might just be waiting.
– The end
Published on:
16 May 2026 16:25 IST
