Hockey India on Saturday sacked national coach Roelant Oltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the international level.
Former India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans will take charge of their arch-rivals Pakistan on a two-and-a-half year deal, the 63-year-old Dutchman announced on Wednesday.
With the Indian men's hockey team delivering some fine results under his tutelage, Roelant Oltmans' contract as chief coach is set to be extended till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
India has always been a difficult place to work for foreign hockey coaches due to difference of opinion with national federations and bureaucratic hurdles.
High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans was on Saturday appointed coach of the Indian hockey team, replacing Paul van Ass, who was unceremoniously sacked after a bitter spat with Hockey India president Narinder Batra.
Veteran Dutch hockey coach Roelant Oltmans says coaching India as an interesting proposition, but with a few riders.
The Dutchman, who guided the Netherlands to the 1996 Olympic title, will be in charge of the team till December 2004.
Chief coach Roelant Oltmans says the performance of the team is always getting better and it is important that the level remains consistent.
The Government of India is set to appoint Hockey India's Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans as Chief Coordinator and High Performance Director for Indian Hockey.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Hockey India appointed the legendary Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans on Thursday as its high performance director. He will oversee the affairs of the senior and junior national teams.
Players being warned by the FIH to stay from the World Series Hockey is a "serious issue", says the event's Delhi franchise coach Roelant Oltmans but he is hopeful that the deadlock will be sorted out soon.
Hockey India's decision to send back Pakistani players due to cross-border conflict has been termed as "unfortunate" by Uttar Pradesh Wizards' Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, who feels the Hockey India League will certainly lose its sheen with the departure of the visitors.
Legendary Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans feels that although Indian hockey team has improved by "leaps and bounds", it needs to regularly play against powerhouses like Australia, Holland and Germany in order to become a force to reckon with.
India chief coach Roelant Oltmans today said two yellow cards hurt the team badly and that resulted in its 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in a pool B men's hockey match at the Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. "We were on the attacking side until we got two yellow cards, which was a gamechanger. You had to fight with one or two less. That's not only difficult to score a goal but it also took away a lot of energy from the players that I'm not happy about it," Oltmans said.
Roelant Oltmans and Terry Walsh's participation as coaches in the upcoming Hockey India League is finally over after HI secretary general Narinder Batra said that the duo will not get paid by the government body during the one-month period of the franchise-based league.
Pakistan's Dutch hockey coach Siegfried Aikman has resigned from his post after not getting paid for the last 12 months. Aikman, who had joined the national team last year, took to social media to announce he had officially resigned as head coach.
A 21-member Indian men's hockey team will embark on a 15-day tour of Europe, starting July 31. High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans will take over as the chief coach of the side following the unceremonious ouster of Paul Van Ass.
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik was appointed coach of the senior men's hockey team on Wednesday, just two days after chief coach Michael Nobbs was shown the door because of non-performance.
Former India men's hockey head coach Roelant Oltmans blamed the lack of tactical awareness and a non-existent club culture for India's early exit from the 2023 Hockey World Cup.
Reid submitted his resignation to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, a day after the conclusion of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
With their eyes firmly focused on 2016 Olympics, Indian men hockey team's chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be an ideal preparation for his boys ahead of the Rio Games. The team, currently training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, will face New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Japan, Canada and hosts Malaysia in the 25th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia starting April 6. With a good mix of youth and experience players up his ranks, the Dutchman feels the squad has what it takes to go all the way. Oltmans has been laying emphasis on having specialists in the team and the implementation of the same has paid rich dividends in the previous season. "We have specialists in each department now and that is helping the boys understand their role better. Hockey India League has definitely helped us tap some good talent but now it's all about showcasing their mettle in the international stage," Oltmans told reporters here.
India hockey coach Roeland Oltmans is delighted at his team's outstanding performance at the Champions Trophy and said it will boost their confidence to produce a better show at the Rio Olympic Games.
Roelant Oltmans fully understands what a men's hockey medal would mean to India's success-starved fans but the Dutch coach will not burden his players with the pressure of bringing one home from the Rio Games.
The Indian hockey teams at the Olympics are facing a shortage of chairs and Television sets at the Games Village and chief coach Roelant Oltmans has complained that the players' apartments are not properly furnished. In a letter to Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent Rakesh Gupta, Oltmans complained about unfurnished accommodation provided to both the men's and women's hockey teams. "The apartments of the Rio Olympics are not furnished properly," Oltmans, who is also the High Performance Director of Indian hockey, wrote in his letter.
Hockey fraternity including three former captains on Friday expressed shock over the decision to appoint women's team coach Sjoerd Marijne as head coach of the Indian men's side, saying the abrupt move 'defies logic'.
World Cup-winning junior coach Harendra Singh is set to apply for the vacant senior men's team coach and feels he is best suited for the role.
India's hockey coach Roelant Oltmans expressed his displeasure following the team's sloppy performance in the 2-2 draw against Canada at the Rio Olympics. Canada, ranked 15th in the world, rallied twice to earn a draw as the fifth ranked India finished the group phase with seven points from five matches.
India's third-place finish at the Hockey World League Finals is a timely reminder of the improvement the team has made under Oltmans. But one must not get carried away.
Their recent impressive showings have raised serious expectations from the national men's hockey team in the Olympics and it's chief coach Roelant Oltmans said if his wards can give their best in every match, India stand a good chance of finishing in the podium in Rio.
With less than 10 days to go for their opening match in the FIH Champions Trophy in London, Indian men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans said he is eyeing a top three finish in the high-profile tournament. Oltmans believes if things go according to plans, the team will stand a good chance to win a medal in the Champions Trophy. "Everybody knows we are good in the knockout stage. But Champions Trophy this year will be slightly different and we need to finish top two to play the final and be top four to play for bronze. "It will be interesting to see how our players will cope to this situation and face the challenge. Our realistic expectation is to finish in the top three," he said about his expectations from the event.
Hockey India President Narinder Batra has launched a scathing attack at India's Chef de Mission Rajeev Mehta and the other members of Indian Olympics Association, who are in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games. In response to the letter sent by hockey coach Roelant Oltmans to IOA complaining about the lack of basic facilities in the Games Village, Batra shared a picture in which players are made to live in 'unfurnished' apartments. Batra shared this image on social media targeting Mehta and the IOA.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
Defender Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit and Manpreet who were part of the Junior World Cup-winning squad are slated to make their debut at the tournament.
Uncertainty hovered over Indian team's halfback SV Sunil's participation in the quarterfinals after he sustained an injury during its last men's hockey Pool B game against Canada at the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. India were dealt a big blow when Sunil was stretchered off the pitch after he suffered an injury by crashing against the sign boards while pressing for an attack during the match against Canada.
His wards might have failed to break the medal jinx at the just-concluded Rio Olympics, but Indian men's hockey team's chief coach Roelant Oltmans says their results in the quadrennial extravaganza were satisfactory if not ideal. India finished fourth in group stage having won two, drawn one and lost two. One of India's win came against eventual gold medallists, Argentina. But the Men in Blue failed to go beyond the quarterfinals having lost 1-3 to silver medallists Belgium.
While every other team practises their hardest in the few hours left for the Rio Olympics 2016, the Indian contingent was left looking for rooms, extra pair of jerseys and assembling chairs.
'The level we played in Champions Trophy will not be enough for the Olympics if we are vying for a medal'
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