Tokyo: The Indian women’s hockey team put up a spirited performance throughout the Tokyo Olympics. After going down in their first three Pool games against the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain, the Rani Rampal-led side won their last two to book a place in the quarterfinals.
Facing a formidable opponent in Australia in the knockout stage, India accepted the challenge head-on and went on to script history when they defeated the mighty opposition to book a place in an Olympics semifinal for the first time.
However, they put up a strong fight against Argentina in the semifinal before going down again to Great Britain spiritedly in the bronze medal match on Friday. India head coach Sjoerd Marijne said the team won something more than a medal.
“We showed a fighting spirit in the bronze medal match against Great Britain, but it wasn’t enough. We gave away too many PCs and in these kinds of matches, you have to convert all your PCs into goals and I must say Gurjit (Kaur) did really well. I told the team that we didn’t win a medal, but we achieved something bigger than a medal and that’s inspiring an entire nation,” said the Dutchman.
“After the Pool match against Great Britain, I was extremely angry with the team. I told the team that if you go down then show that you really tried and then go down. I told the team that they will have to do better and I think the team’s mindset transformed after that match.
“I and Janneke Schopman (analytical coach) had a lot of individual meetings with the girls and they found the key for the next matches themselves. I think that was an important part of the tournament for us,” he added.
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Marijne added that the players believing in themselves made him proud. “We always had the belief that we can win a medal and we were really close. The girls believing in themselves makes me really proud. I think that was one of the biggest steps we made. Every girl in the team has her own story and every story is amazing,” he said.
“Let’s hope that a lot of women in India have seen this Indian team’s performance and are inspired by the team to start playing hockey or any other sport.” Marijne stressed the fact that staying in the moment was very important for the Indian team in the Olympics.
“We finished among the top four in this competition and every team is now taking us seriously. I think that is a big step. We have always looked to stay in the moment and be busy with our task. We have tried to develop this mindset for a long time. We wanted to avoid thinking about winning or losing because that makes you nervous and we wanted to stay away from that.”
