Hockey India sacks chief coach Oltmans

Bengaluru, September 2: Hockey India on Saturday (September 2) sacked coach of senior team Roelant Oltmans. High Performance Director David John will take charge till a suitable replacement found.

The step was taken in a review meeting convened by the Hockey India to assess the team's and coach's performance and to chart out the way forward.

The Dutch man took over the reins of the Indian hockey team in 2015 and despite India reaching sixth in world ranking in the span of two years, Oltmans' tenure was noted for some inconsistent efforts by the national team.

"Key decisions taken inlcuded Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans to step down. While the role of Roland Oltmans role as Chief Coach in improving the team's overall fitness and cohesiveness has been appreciated, the results are what matter and the performance of the team has not been consistent or up to the desired levels," said a communique from Hockey India.

Harbinder Singh, chairman of Hockey India selection committee, said the review meeting was called for since they were not satisfied by the collective effort of the men's team in 2016 and 2017.

"Wins in Asia cannot be a benchmark for success anymore. To make a results a reality, we need to make hard decisions and for the greater good of the future of hockey in India. The current format of coaching was not showing results beyond a certain level. The committee unanimously agreed to to take immediate action," said Harbinder.

India have some important assignments in 2018 like the Asian Games and the World Cup.