Indian women’s hockey coaching staff: Team that made the Tokyo 2020 dream work

For almost a year and half, the Indian women’s hockey team has been working relentlessly through the anxiety of the pandemic and the lockdown. And this time, more than ever before, they had the right men and women backing them, guiding them, on the road to Tokyo 2020.

The women’s hockey team has been one of the best success stories for India at the on-going Games. This was the first time they were playing back-to-back Olympics, after qualifying for Rio 2016 after a gap of 36 years. And the Indian women rose to the occasion, making it all the way to the semifinals of the Olympics for the very first time.

They lost 1-2 to Argentina in the final four but will compete for a bronze medal, against Great Britain, on Friday. We take a look at the coaching staff that has made the Indian hockey team’s dream work:

Sjoerd Marijne (Chief coach)

The former Dutch hockey player has been working with the Indian women’s hockey team since 2017.

Ever since he arrived on the scene, he has worked on making the players physically, tactically and mentally stronger. Rather than imposing his ideas and vision on the team, he has made the players more smarter and more tactically aware.

He guided the team to their first silver medal at the Asian Games after 20 years in 2018, and a runners-up finish at the 2018 Women’s Asian Champions Trophy. Marijne, 47, was the coach as India qualified for their second successive Olympics.

Wayne Patrick Lombard (Scientific advisor)

The strength and conditioning coach revolutionized the way the Indian women trained. He charted out individual training day-to-day schedules for each one of them and taught them how to manage the workload. He made sure the diet was closely monitored as well.

Lombard, who arrived in 2017, brought the women’s hockey team up to speed with the rest of the world and the results were for all to see. India kept pace and stayed in there physically and mentally against some of the best teams in the world at Tokyo 2020.

Janneke Schopman (Analytical coach)

Schopman, who had worked as a head coach with the United Stated women’s hockey team, was brought into the Indian coaching staff in January 2020.

She was a member of the Dutch women’s hockey team that won an Olympic gold at Beijing 2008. A successful coach and player, Schopman brought that wealth of knowledge along with her. Marijne believes that apart from her big-stage experience, her interpersonal skills and communication with the players made her an invaluable asset.

Ankitha Suresh (Coach)

Ankitha Suresh, who hails from Madikeri, came in as the coach in January 2020. The 29-year-old, who started her sports career in athletics, switched to hockey when she was in junior college (high school) and has represented Karnataka at Nationals.

She completed her Level-3 coaching course offered by Hockey India and is also one of the few Level-2 Technical Officials.

The other members of the support staff are: Nivedita Chopra (physiotherapist), Amuthaprakash Perumal (video analyst) and Radhika Bhikan Chaudhari (masseuse)