MARGAO
Former men's coach Clarence Lobo has hailed the Indian women's hockey team that finished fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lobo, who guided the men's team at the 2012 London Games, feels the women's team under Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne -- who worked briefly with the Indian men's team -- has transformed the eves drastically.
“The pace and basic skills, the confidence they maintained throughout the tournament was of high quality,” said Lobo, who guided the Indian team to a gold medal at the Asian Championship in 2011.
“He (Marijne) took over the charge in 2017 and returned to the women's set up in 2018 and stayed in Bangalore despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” the former coach said. “They played flawless hockey, maintaining composure against Australia in the quarterfinal. It was the best play as I saw Australia on the back foot for the first time. In the semis against Argentina, it was so close and our women did not give up till the last minute,” added Lobo.
“In the match for the bronze medal against Great Britain, India played extremely well but lost by a narrow margin. They played their hearts out and, sadly, they missed out on a podium finish. Now, we should look forward to this women's team doing well in the near future,” Lobo opined.
“The transformation has therefore been remarkable under the Dutchman. He has guided India to its best performance so far in the history of the Olympics. Sjoerd deserves credit for this,” the Dronacharya awardee said.
