Hyderabad: Coach Sjoerd Marijne started his second tenure on an impressive note as the Indian women qualified for this year’s World Cup without breaking a sweat.Although they lost 2-0 to England in the final of the FIH World Cup qualifiers on Saturday night, the girls gave a good account of themselves.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The Dutchman was impressed with his new shipment, though it’s still a work in progress. “We focused and played a good match (final). But there are many things we can improve, of course it’s our first tournament,” Marijan said, adding that he wanted to see how the girls would react under pressure.“I saw how the girls reacted in the semi-final and the final. I’m happy we played against a good team in the final. I saw them perform under pressure, which you can’t do in a training camp. You can’t create that pressure. So it was good. And then I could see a lot of things, which I keep for myself,” he added.The team, a blend of youth and experience, was fluid in midfield and strong at the back. But despite winning 37 penalty corners, far more than their rivals, they could only convert six. They had four in the final. While the British replaced their two PCs, India held on. In the semi-finals, they converted only one of the nine PCs.However, Maryjane was impressed with the way the girls created opportunities. “PC turnover is a concern. There’s a lot of room for improvement. But if you don’t create opportunities, I’d be concerned. If you don’t build PCs, you’re not breaking lines, then we’ll really have a problem. But we’ve created opportunities under pressure as well. From the technical side, we need to improve. Decision making needs to be improved. In the circle, we need to position ourselves better,” the coach said.Apart from his hat-trick against Wales, drag flicker Navneet Kaur missed several chances. But along with Lalramsyamy, he led the attack well. The midfield of Salima Tete, Sunilita Topo and Sakshi Rana did a good job of holding the ball and feeding the forwards.The fact that the defense conceded just 10 penalty corners in five matches and England barely penetrated the perimeter in the third and fourth quarters of the final shows how effective Indian defenders Sushila Chanu, Adita, Nikki Pradhan, Manisha and Ishika were throughout the week.Salima counted many positive things. “With several new girls and a new coach, I thought it would be tough. But I’m happy with the way we adjusted. Whatever mistakes we made here, I’m sure we’ll correct them in the next tournament,” Salima added.
