New Delhi: It was a team that had seemingly lost its way. Having failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, relegated from the FIH Pro League, and bogged down by internal tensions and rifts over the last couple of years, the Indian women’s hockey team arrived at the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium with more questions than answers.
They hadn’t played a top-tier team in a year. Yet, against all odds, they delivered a performance that has reignited hope and proved they can still go toe-to-toe with the sport’s powerhouses.
Returning to the setup in January, after previously guiding the team to a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne engineered a stunning turnaround. Within months, he helped the squad qualify for the World Cup and secured the Nations Cup title that earned them a ticket back to the elite Pro League.
At the World Cup itself, the team showcased a newfound resilience, finishing the tournament with one win, one loss, and three draws in five matches. Those three draws were not against pushovers, but against true hockey pedigree.
They secured a gritty 2-2 draw against China, the Paris Olympics silver medallists and indisputably the best team in Asia today. They hammered South Africa 6-1, their biggest win in World Cup history.
