Captain Rani Rampal wishes former head coach Sjoerd Marijne luck for 'new chapter'

Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal thanked former head coach Sjoerd Marijne and wished him luck for the future.

The Dutch master tactician stepped down after leading the Indian women's hockey team to a fourth-place finish in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. Even though the team finished fourth, it was a lion-hearted performance from the girls.

Taking to Twitter, Rani shared series of images with Marijne and wrote: "Thanku coach @SjoerdMarijne for everything u have done for women's hockey team best wishes for the new chapter."

The Dutch coach had taken charge of the team for the first time in 2017. In the Olympic qualifiers, the Indian women's hockey team beat the US 5-1 in the first game. However, in the next match, they went down 4-1 and just about managed to make the cut for the Olympics.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marijne stayed back in India and resumed the practice sessions as soon as they were permitted to train. In January 2021, the team flew to Argentina where they drew two matches and lost on four occasions.

In February, they set sail for Germany for another exposure trip as part of their preparations where the team failed to win. However, they gained vital experience which helped them immensely.

At the Olympics, they had a dream run where they beat world no.3 Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals. However, in the semi-final and in the bronze medal play-off, they lost to Argentina and Great Britain respectively to finish fourth, which is their best performance ever at the Olympics since 1980.

( With inputs from ANI )

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