Former coach Sjoerd Marijne writes book on Indian women's incredible turnaround

Bengaluru, Sept. 12: Indian women's hockey team has been scaling new heights and to share a glimpse of the team's incredible turnaround, former Indian women's hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne is set to turn writer.

Marijne, who is set to turn author for his upcoming book "Will Power", will give the world a look into the inside story of the team which scripted an incredible turnaround at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Published by HarperCollins India, the book will hit the stands on September 21. It is touted to be a moving tale about a team with zero self-belief and its quest to rise from the pits to achieve a fourth-place finish -- its best ever performance in the Olympics.

When Marijne was appointed the chief coach of the women's team in 2017, India were laggards in world hockey. Four and a half years later -- and despite his see-sawing stint as the coach -- he turned the team's fortunes around and made them a force to be reckoned with, globally.

The Indian women came close to winning their maiden Olympic medal before losing to Great Britain 3-4 in the bronze play-off match.

"Every individual, team or organization 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.

With the refreshing candour of an outsider, the Dutchman takes a deep dive into the dark side of Indian sports -- hockey, in particular -- and reveals how bureaucracy, sexism, favouritism and the players' struggles with poverty, mental and physical health, affect the team.

He also writes about dealing with setbacks, building team chemistry, creating a high-performance culture and harbouring 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 has played for The Netherlands, and guided the Dutch Under-21 women's side to a World Cup title and the Dutch senior women's side to a gold at the Hockey World League Semi Finals in 2015.

Source: PTI