Sjoerd Marijne, who guided the Indian Women’s Hockey team to their best-ever Olympic outing, has ended his tenure with Hockey India. But he is yet to receive his final salary from SAI and a reward from UP government.
Sjoerd Marijne was first appointed the head coach of the Indian Women’s Team in February 2017. But just after 7 months of his appointment, Hockey India (HI) stirred controversy by ousting Roelant Oltmans and appointing Marijne as the chief coach of the Senior Men’s Hockey coach. His appointment was debatable because of his inexperience in coaching a senior national men’s team.
But after the debacle of the Men’s Hockey team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, Sjoerd Marijne was brought back to his former post in the Women’s Hockey team. From then on, he was with the eves, contributing in raising their game and bringing a unity in the team. Indian Women’s team,under Sjoerd, secured a historic 4th position at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, a remarkable turnaround for a team that had finished last at Rio in 2016.
Sjoerd Marijne’s tenure as the chief coach of Indian Women’s Hockey team came to an end after the Olympics. But his final salary has been blocked at the recommendation of Hockey India (HI). Sports Authority of India (SAI) sources have divulged that Marijne’s six-day salary of USD 1800, has been put on hold as he has been denied a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for not returning his official laptop. According to the Dutchman who is based in Den Bosch, has pleaded his innocence by saying that he only took the laptop with him for repairs, since it had broken down in August, and that he has now sent it back to India which is on its way.
On the flip side, HI is not happy about Marijne making the issue public. According to HI, Marijne is trying to “tarnish Indian sports administration” and the governing body has also stated that the non-return of the laptop amounts to data theft and there should be penal action taken against him.
The Indian Women’s Hockey, after returning from Tokyo, were welcomed in a grand manner, with congratulations pouring in from all parts of the nation. Moreover, on the 19th of August the Uttar Pradesh government felicitated the team members in Lucknow with cash rewards. Each of the team members received ₹50 lakh, while ₹10 lakh went to each of the support staff. Unfortunately, Marijne was unable to attend the function owing to personal commitments and is still to receive his reward.
“Yeah, I am also in communication with the UP government officials. Actually, I couldn’t attend the event and so there were some issues with details of my bank account, which have been settled now,” said Marijne.
