The Indian women’s hockey team took a big step towards returning to top-tier competition by winning the FIH Nations Cup over the weekend but for coach Sjoerd Marijne, it is only one step on the long road to being a regular at the highest level.

At the same time, he is candid that every victory makes a difference to the team’s confidence.

“Like I told the girls, it’s important to learn also to win. We played a World Cup qualifier, we achieved our goal and qualified but we lost the final to England. You have to learn from things that don’t go well; like not winning that final. I think the team reached a higher level (in Nations Cup) than that final. And I was happy with that,” Marijne admitted during an interaction with select media on Wednesday.

Marijne and his girls have ticked off two of the boxes for the year — World Cup qualifiers and Nations Cup. Up next will be the World Cup and the all-important Asian Games.

“You always want to improve in every area. If I talk about this tournament, it’s mainly converting our chances into goals. We create enough opportunities but we don’t make enough field goals, that’s something we need to keep working on,” he said.

Asked about the changes since he took over six months ago, Marijne preferred to talk about the inter-personal rather than on-field performances.

“There’s connection between players. I see an openness, people are open to feedback, both giving and accepting. I see a lot of effort in helping each other outside the pitch. That was one of the things really important for me in rebuilding the team, creating a safe environment.”