India women's hockey team head coach Sjoerd Marijne says the squad's best Hockey World Cup finish in 52 years has delivered something far more lasting than a morale boost — a first-hand conviction that they belong among the elite of global hockey. Speaking ahead of the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Marijne said the fifth-place finish at the World Cup has fundamentally shifted the way his players see themselves.

What the World Cup result changed

For Marijne, the transformative value of the campaign was experiential, not theoretical. 'I can tell them many times, 'Okay, we are a good team, you can do it,' but they have to experience it themselves,' he said. 'Now they played against the best teams in the world, and they have experienced that they can match up with them, and sometimes even beat them, like Germany, who I really rank as a top-four team.'

At the time of the tournament, Germany were ranked fifth in the world and India were placed ninth. India defeated Germany in the classification match to secure fifth place — the country's highest World Cup finish in over five decades. Notably, results like that are precisely the kind of evidence that change a team's internal narrative.

Eyes on Asian Games gold and Olympic qualification

India's next major objective is the Asian Games 2026, where a gold medal would seal direct qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. Marijne acknowledged the competition will be formidable, with China, Japan, and South Korea among the sides expected to challenge at the top. Despite the high stakes, his approach is to keep the team anchored in process rather than outcomes.

'For us, it's about ourselves. Focus on our own performance and doing that well,' he said. When pressed on the prospect of winning gold, the coach was characteristically measured: 'I don't believe in 'if'. I'm sorry, I know you want to have an answer, but I'm not going to jinx things. I have respect for our opponents.'

Managing pressure and staying in the present

Marijne's philosophy is rooted in keeping players away from outcome-driven anxiety. 'Outcomes like, 'Oh, if we win this' or 'if we lose that one,' that creates stress,' he explained. 'But if I'm busy like, 'Okay, what do the girls at this moment need from me?' that brings me back to what I can control.'

This mindset, he said, is especially important at the highest level of competition, where mental composure can be as decisive as technical ability. His immediate focus is India's opening Asian Games assignment against Uzbekistan, not the medal podium or Olympic berth that could follow.

Hunger within the squad driving standards higher

What encourages Marijne most is that his players were not satisfied with fifth place. That restless ambition, he believes, is the hallmark of a team with genuine potential. 'They're hungry for more, and I think that is the spirit you need to have if you are acting on the highest level,' he said. 'I like that mindset very much because that means that I also can set the benchmark higher and higher.'

This comes amid a broader resurgence in Indian women's hockey, which has steadily climbed the world rankings over recent years. The combination of fresh confidence from a historic World Cup result and an undiminished appetite for more places India's women's team in arguably their most promising position in a generation heading into the Asian Games.