Sjoerd Marijne said the World Cup will help India prepare for the Asian Games, which is a direct qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Indian women’s hockey team is likely to retain its core group for both the World Cup and the Asian Games, with the two marquee events scheduled less than three weeks apart, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne indicated on Wednesday.

The Hockey World Cup, for both men and women, will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 15 to 30, while the Asian Games, which will serve as a direct qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

While there has been speculation that India could field two different men’s teams for the two events, Marijne said the women’s team would use the World Cup as preparation for the more important Asian Games.

“We have thought about this process. We have experience from 2018, it was the same. So what I see is one tournament is going to help the other one. The Asian Games is the most important for us as it is a direct qualifier for the Olympics,” Marijne told PTI.

“But the World Cup in 2018 also gave us a boost in confidence and that’s the same way we are going to approach it now. The approach will be to focus on the World Cup and the learning from the World Cup, we take to the Asian Games and there is nothing better than playing matches under pressure at the World Cup and use that knowledge in the Asian Games.

“In World Cup we will have 20 players and in the Asian Games we will have 18 as only 18 are allowed,” he added.

Taekema to be with Indian women’s team for World Cup, Asian Games

Dutch drag-flick specialist Taeke Taekema, who has worked with the Indian women’s team on an assignment basis, will be with the side at both the World Cup and the Asian Games, Marijne said.

Taekema has been roped in by Hockey India to work with the Indian women’s team till the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

ALSO READ | Amandeep Kaur’s leap of faith: From javelin to Indian rugby’s rising star

“Yes, he will be in both tournaments. Taekema is a specialist coach and we are very happy that we can have him in both World Cup and the Asian Games.

“He has experience of working with the Chinese team. He is bigger than just a specialist coach for me, he is doing the penalty corner attacking, penalty corner defending and also guiding the defenders,” Marijne said.

Taekema, a silver medallist with the Netherlands at the 2004 Athens Olympics, is regarded as one of the leading drag-flickers of his generation.

Meanwhile, Indian women’s team captain Salima Tete praised Deepika, who returned to the side after recovering from a grade three hamstring tear sustained last year.

Deepika scored six goals during India’s FIH Nations Cup campaign, sharing the top-scorer honour with USA’s Ashley Sessa.

“Deepika showed her performance after returning from injury. Deepika is a crucial player for us and very good drag-flicker. We do believe that if we create a penalty corner just a minute before the end of the game, Deepika will score.

“We supported her a lot after her return from injury. She has very good skills and speed and we will continue to support her,” Salima said.

Published on Jun 24, 2026