India Women’s Hockey Coach Thanks PM For ‘Inspirational Phone Call’, Says Will Fight For Bronze

Tokyo: India suffered a 2-1 defeat against world no. 2 Argentina in the semi-final of the women’s hockey event at Olympic Games 2020. Coach Sjoerd Marijne of the Netherlands informed about a phone call that he received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter. He pledged to “show resilience” and win the bronze medal.

The Dutch coach had a memorable tournament with the Indian women’s hockey team. After three straight losses in the league, the Indian team bounced back with a 3-2 win against South Africa, to qualify for the knockout stages. Receiving a phone call from the PM might salvage the day for the coach after a heart-breaking 2-1 loss in the semi-final on Wednesday. 

Let’s take a look at what was tweeted by the Indian coach:

Thanks very much Sir @narendramodi for your inspirational phone call, I will bring over the message to the team, we will show resilience and also keep showing the Indian Shernis fighting spirit in the match for the bronze medal. @TheHockeyIndia #PMO

— Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) August 4, 2021

Earlier in the week, Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan also wished coach Sjoerd Marijne in his ‘coach Kabir Khan’ way.

Have a look below:

 

Thank you for all the support and love. We will give everything again.
From: The Real Coach. ? https://t.co/TpKTMuFLxt

— Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) August 2, 2021

Despite the loss, it needs to be said that it was a spirited performance by the Indian women’s hockey team. Argentina is currently ranked no. 2 in women’s hockey. To play the way India’s women played against Argentina till the last minute is commendable. 

The Indian women’s team gave everything but they fell short by just a goal. The Argentine women were also the deserving winners. They did not give up after conceding an early goal.