Internet Desk: The Hockey India Selection Committee has taken a shocking decision today as they sacked the current coach of the men’s team Roelant Oltmans with immediate effect. They have taken the decision just three days after the conclusion of meeting of the Hockey India High Performance and Development Committee.
The current High Performance Director of the team, David John will take the charge as the interim coach until Hockey India finds a replacement of Oltmans.
“The Committee was convened since we are collectively not satisfied with the Indian Men’s Hockey team’s performance in 2016 and 2017 and feels that wins in Asia can’t be a benchmark for success any more. We need to show results beyond intent in key international tournaments where the sporadic success over the last two years is more incidental than deliberate,” Harbinder Singh, Chairman of the Hockey India Selection Committee, said.
“To make results a reality, we need to make hard decisions 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 agreement that immediate action was required to be taken and while change may not always be comfortable it is essential if we want to position ourselves as a serious global contender for the upcoming critical tournaments in 2018 including the Asian Games & World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games,” he added.