Sjoerd Marijne has been announced as the new head coach for the Indian women's hockey team. But Marijne is not new to the Indian women's hockey team.
Four and half years after he left post the high of Tokyo Olympics where they finished fourth, the Dutchman is back and will hope to make significant improvements to the team that struggled in recent years.
Marijne replaced Harendra Singh who quit due to 'personal reasons', but the results under him were very poor. India finished last in the Pro League which meant relegation to the second-tier FIH Nations Cup, and their form indicated that they will be in danger of missing out World Cup qualification too.
Marijne will be supported by Matias Vila as analytical coach and Wayne Lombard, as Scientific Advisor and Head of Athletic Performance. Lombard was with Marijne in his previous stint with the women's team as well.
It's great to be back. After 4.5 years, I return with fresh energy and a clear vision to support the team's growth and help the players achieve their full potential on the world stage. @TheHockeyIndia @sports_odisha pic.twitter.com/S2DQrsUIkj
- Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) January 2, 2026
Marijne's tryst with Indian hockey
It was back in 2017 that Marijne came to Indian hockey, first as a coach of the women's team before taking charge of the men's team later that year. However, he was back to the women's team in 2018 and stayed with them till the end of Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where the team exceeded expectations with a fourth-place finish.
Marijne, with the help of Lombard, was credited with massively improving the standard of the women's team. Before 2017, the Indian women's team struggled to compete against top teams, but in a matter of few years they developed high fitness levels and started looking like a well-trained international team capable of beating the best on their day.
However, post Marijne, the Indian women's hockey team failed to sustain the positive impact. Janneke Schopman, who was Marijne's assistant at the Tokyo Olympics, took charge of the team in 2021 but couldn't make the team perform consistently at the top level, which eventually resulted in their failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Later, Harendra was brought back in a musical chairs of coaches, but results didn't improve much.
Marijne also wrote the book 'Will Power - The Inside Story of the Incredible Turnaround in Indian Women's Hockey' about his time in India, which created quite a controversy when it was supposed to release in 2022. It was reported that the men's and women's teams were keen to take legal action against Marijne and publishing house HarperColllins, following the Dutchman's accusation that Manpreet Singh asked a young player to underperform during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Can Marijne turn Indian women's hockey team's fortunes, again?
Curiously, Marijne comes in at a time similar to what was happening in 2017. The current team has been having a difficult time in the last few years, where even qualification to the Olympics or World Cup seems tough. The fact that bodes well with Marijne appointment is that he has been there and done it. He showed in the past that he can make a cohesive team, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There was the element of fighting spirit to the team that made its impact back in 2021. The players got the confidence to go toe-to-toe with the best. But after Marijne, the team often failed to show that spirit, especially in important games like the Olympic qualifiers.
Marijne's work with key players was also instrumental in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics. The likes of Rani Rampal, Vandana Katariya and Gurjit Kaur became key components of his team. They took the responsibility and delivered. At the moment, the Indian team is missing these kinds of players.
The new coach has the calibre to turn it around, but he needs to do it quickly this time because this year is hugely important.
What's next for the women's team?
Marijne will arrive in India on January 14 and will begin his camp from January 19 at the SAI campus in Bengaluru. His first big challenge will be the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad, Telangana from March 8 to March 14, 2026.
The first task is to ensure World Cup qualification and go to Belgium and the Netherlands to feature in it.
Later this year, the team will also play the Asian Games which is an Olympics qualifier. Since 2021, China have made significant improvement and became the best team from Asia. Marijne and his coaching staff will push the Indian team to take the spot from China.