Sjoerd Marijne: Small group of probables will raise quality of training

Indian women’s hockey team coach Marijne is aiming to raise the quality of training after Hockey India announced a small group of probables for the New Zealand tour.

Sjoerd Marijne: "We are all looking forward to an exciting 2020 and all the challenges that will come in the year."

Indian women’s hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne is aiming to raise the quality of training during the 17-day camp after Hockey India announced a 25-member probables list for the upcoming tour of New Zealand later this month.

After a successful 2019 where the Indian women’s team succeeded in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, the side is scheduled to begin the new year with a tour of New Zealand where it will play four matches against the World No. 6 side and one against Great Britain.

Besides working on key areas such as fitness, ball-handling, structure and strategies, the upcoming camp will see a rejuvenated Indian side get into the groove ahead of the Olympics.

Exciting season

“We are all looking forward to an exciting 2020 and all the challenges that will come in the year. We start the national coaching camp with 25 players who have been selected to compete for the final 16 spots in the Olympic team. Because the group is smaller now, we can raise the quality of training even more in the upcoming 17 days,” Marijne said.

Last year India produced some outstanding performances across tournaments, winning the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Test Event in Japan, and the Olympic qualifiers, along with victories during the tours to Spain, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and England.