Girls also need HIL, Pro League like men to excel: Sjoerd Marijne

Sjoerd Marijne

The Indian women's hockey team's outgoing coach Sjoerd Marijne on Friday said Rani Rampal and her gutsy teammates deserve more international exposure to build on their historic fourth-place finish at the Olympics and the national federation must introduce a domestic league for women to assist their growth.

Soon after guiding the team to its best-ever performance in the Olympic Games, the Dutchman announced that he would no longer continue in his current job citing personal reasons despite being offered an extension. Ending his stint with Indian hockey on a high, Marijne asked Hockey India to organise more high-pressure games for the women's side on home soil as well as abroad to maintain continuity in its progress.

"...we have to do the same thing like what men did in the last eight years, like Hockey India League if it's possible, participating in the Pro League, organising tournaments in India for the women. These kind of things will help," Marijne said after the end of India's Olympic campaign in hockey.

"In the last four-five matches, we really had pressure and we have to learn to deal with pressure by playing consistently against top teams.

That's what the girls need to take big steps."

The outgoing coach feels the women's team should be treated at par with the men's outfit when it comes to exposure. While India have a domestic league for men, there has been no such initiative yet for women.

"They [men's team] have HIL, Pro League, tournaments in India and that is what we also need. They had these for eight to 10 years and so they could climb up the ladder," Marijne said commenting on the bronze medal that the men's team won here on Thursday.

"The more you play against the top countries the rankings will improve. We showed that we can do without those things and it will be great for women if they can have the same things as the men," he explained.

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