Bengaluru: With Rani becoming the first Indian women’s hockey player to be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and defender Deepika with the Arjuna Award this year, head coach Coach Sjoerd Marijne is brimming with pride.
“I am happy for Rani and Deepika. I am also happy for the team because only one player can get the award but we all know it’s a team achievement and I am very pleased to see that women’s hockey is getting this recognition for their efforts and incredibly hard work,” stated Marijne.
Marijne said that the core group is doing very basic activities now. He was also in 14-day quarantine after returning from the Netherlands earlier this month following a six-week break from the national coaching camp.
“It has been good to start again with everyone slowly coming out of the quarantine and I am relieved everyone is healthy and have taken care of themselves during this period. For me personally, it feels nice to do what I love the most. That gives me energy,” said the Dutch coach.
“We are going about these sports activities keeping in mind the SOP provided by SAI and Hockey India. I am just glad the team is being able to run on the pitch again after almost 5 months and start with very basic skills,” he said.
