Former Coach Sjoerd Marijne Writes Book about the Remarkable Comeback of Indian Women

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 13 September 2022

Sjoerd Marijne, a former coach of the Indian women's hockey team, plans to become a writer to give readers a peek of the squad's remarkable turnaround. Marijne will give the world a glimpse into the inside story of the team that staged an astounding comeback at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in his soon-to-be-released book, "Will Power."

The book, which is being released by HarperCollins India, will be available on September 21. It is hailed as a compelling story about a team that had no self-confidence and its struggle to recover and finish in fourth place, which was its best-ever Olympic achievement.

India was a hockey laggard when Marijne was appointed the head coach of the women's team in 2017. Despite his turbulent tenure as the team's coach, four and a half years later, he managed to turn around the team's fortunes and make them into a force to be reckoned with on a global scale.

Before falling to Great Britain 3-4 in the bronze play-off match, the Indian ladies were inches away from claiming their first Olympic medal. "Every individual, team or organisation has a dream about they would like to achieve. The Indian women's hockey team also had a dream and that was to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.  In 'Will Power', I describe the journey we embarked on as a team and I, personally, as a coach," said the 48-year-old Marijne in a statement.

"Setbacks have made me stronger in life and my will power has helped me be the person I am now. I hope this book will also help readers follow their dreams-- be it individually or collectively as a team," he added.

The Dutchman explores the dark side of Indian sports, namely hockey, with the refreshing candour of an outsider. He shows how corruption, misogyny, favouritism, and the players' battles with poverty, mental illness, and physical and mental health have an impact on the team.

He also discusses developing team chemistry, cultivating a high-performance culture, and maintaining a winning mentality.  "During his stint as coach of the Indian women's hockey team, Marijne had a ringside view of the action -- observing, shaping and turning around the performance of the team for the better. 'Will Power' is a memorable account of his innings and will inspire readers to perform for the best, be it in life, their careers or as part of teams," said Arcopol Chaudhuri, executive editor (Rights & New Media) at Harper Collins India.

Marijne played for The Netherlands and led both the senior women's team and the under-21 women's team to gold medals in the 2015 Hockey World League Semi Finals.