FIH Women’s Series Finals | India defended very well in final, says Sjoerd Marijne

SportsCafe Desk
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Indian women’s hockey team head coach, Sjoerd Marijne, has stated that the team defended very well in the final game of the tournament which they won by a score of 3-1 against Japan. Marijne also heaped praise on drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur who scored 11 goals at the FIH event in Hiroshima.

Pretty much like the men’s team, the Indian women have also been crowned champions in the FIH Series Finals in Japan’s Hiroshima. In a thrilling final which was played on Sunday against hosts Japan, India came up with a stunning show with skipper Rani Rampal scoring in the first quarter while Gurjit Kaur found the back of the net twice towards the later stages of the game to ensure a win for the visitors.

Coach Marijne is delighted with the performance by the Indian girls and said that the team's defence played well in the final and that helped them win the title. He also praised Gurjit for being the highest scorer of the tournament with 11 goals and being effective as a drag-flicker for India. Rani was adjudged the Player of the Tournament.

“It was a hard-fought match, it was a difficult match. We did nothing wrong,” Marijne said after the match, reported PTI.

“I think we defended very well, we play fast combination hockey and have a good drag-flick. She (drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur) was impressive again today.”

India had earlier defeated Chile in the semi-final encounter to get a ticket for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers which will be held later this year. The Indian girls will now aim at doing well in that tournament to earn qualification into the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo next year. India had qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years.

“We are happy with the 500 points. When we came here, our mission was 500 points. Hopefully, we will be given the advantage to play at home (in the final round of Olympic qualifiers) and that will be great,” the Indian coach explained.

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