The Pakistan Hockey Federation has appointed Australian Colin Batch as the new head coach of the national side ahead of this year's FIH men's World Cup.
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.
The Dutchman, who guided the Netherlands to the 1996 Olympic title, will be in charge of the team till December 2004.
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.
Veteran Dutch hockey coach Roelant Oltmans says coaching India as an interesting proposition, but with a few riders.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
India has always been a difficult place to work for foreign hockey coaches due to difference of opinion with national federations and bureaucratic hurdles.
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.
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 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.
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.
Former hockey ace Mervyn Fernandis slammed the umpiring in Sunday's Asia Cup hockey final, which India lost to South Korea, while hailing the team's showing in the tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Delhi Wizards, on Monday, joined Karnataka Lions, Chennai Cheetahs and Pune Strykers as the latest team to take part in the World Series Hockey tournament starting next month in various venues in the country.
Coach Roelant Oltmans expressed confidence that the team would make it to the semi-final.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chief coach of the Indian men's hockey Michael Nobbs said on Tuesday he wasn't "pushed out" but willingly resigned from the job owing to deteriorating health.
The Belgians finished first in pool A and hence will be teamed against India.
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.
The gold medal-winning Indian men's hockey team will receive a cash reward of Rs 2.5 lakh each from Hockey India for their stupendous show at the Asian Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Keen to start their Rio Olympic Games campaign on a winning note, Indian hockey men's captain PR Sreejesh said that his team would not be taking unpredictable Ireland lightly when they face-off on Saturday.
'The level we played in Champions Trophy will not be enough for the Olympics if we are vying for a medal'
While praising the Indian men hockey team's progress under the guidance of coach Roelant Oltmans, former international Viren Rasquinha did not hold out a realistic chance for the country to climb the medals podium at the upcoming Rio Olympics.
The Indian hockey team's stand-in captain and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh says the Champions Trophy in England and the following six-nation hockey tournament in Spain will give his side the opportunity to test players' mental strength ahead of the Rio Olympic Games.
Fancied India crashed out of the Hockey World League Semi-Final after suffering a shocking 2-3 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in a quarter-final match in London on Thursday.
India's ace forward SV Sunil and midfielder Manpreet Singh have been ruled out of the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy due to their respective injuries. While Sunil still carries the wrist injury from Rio Olympics during India's encounter against Canada, Manpreet has recently picked up a groin injury. "Manpreet's is a repeated groin injury. Though it is manageable at this stage, it should not become chronic hence we decided to keep him back here for rehabilitation. Sunil and Raghunath (who is recovering from an elbow injury) will also be in SAI while the team is away in Malaysia," confirmed Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans.
Sports Ministry officials clarified that they are yet to receive any form of communication on Indian men's hockey team coach Paul van Ass, who claims to have been sacked by Hockey India.
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