Roelant Oltmans News

Siegfried Aikman had flown back to homeland late last year without resigning. He waited for six months to get his arrears. But a constant snub by PHF led him to finally put his papers.

The Indian men's hockey team's medal-less and rudder-less Commonwealth Games performance has brought chief coach Sjoerd Marijne under the scanner with Hockey India scheduling a performance review meeting later this week.

Oltmans, who was in charge of Indian hockey for four years -- first as High Performance Director and later as chief coach since 2015 before his unceremonious sacking last September -- took to his official twitter handle to confirm the appointment.

Things weren't exactly going to plan until Hockey India appointed new coaches and were rewarded with Asia Cup gold by both men and women's team.

It hasn't been a year to remember so far for India. A bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was at best restoration of pride, after India failed to beat Malaysia for a place in the final. The HWL Semifinals in London brought further embarrassment, after India almost handed out World Cup invitations in defeats against Malaysia and Canada.

New coach Sjoerd Marijne got the boys around him upon taking charge and said that a team's progress depends as much on the trust factor as on skills and other aspects.

According to the advertisement, the chief coach will be given a three-year term till December 31 i.E. 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games cycle, subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probation period.

The chief coach's position was vacated on Saturday after HI decided to end its four-year association with Roelant Oltmans. 

A year on from Rio, Hockey India’s (HI) High Performance and Development Committee on Saturday escorted Oltmans to the exit door – thanking him for what he has done, while reminding that the team’s performance in 2017 doesn’t merit him continuing in the job.

In the past, renowned coaches like Australian Ric Charlesworth, Spaniard Jose Brasa, Micheal Nobbs, Terry Walsh and Paul van Ass were shown the door unceremoniously even before the completion of their tenures.

John will have a tough task in resurrecting the performances of the Indian team considering that it has been a bit of a downhill curve.

The Indian team has had lukewarm performances at the international level in 2017 especially when compared to the progress made in 2016. It seems obvious that the sacking has happened because of the apparent under-performance.  

For India, it is their second defeat against Malaysia in little less than two months. Roelant Oltmans' men had earlier lost 0-1 to the same opponents in the Azlan Shah Cup last month.

Ranked sixth in the world, India start as overwhelming favourites against the 14th placed Malaysia.

India chief hockey coach Roelant Oltmans exuded satisfaction after his boys went on a goal spree against Pakistan in the Hockey World League Semi-Final but said they still need to work on some areas.

Ramandeep Singh struck with a reverse hit from the top of the circle in the 31st minute and three minutes later, he converted a pass from S V Sunil to give India a 2-1 lead.

India are placed in an easier Pool B, with the Netherlands only team ranked higher. Other teams in the pool are Pakistan and Canada. The other pool comprises Olympic 2016 champions Argentina, England, South Korea, Malaysia and China.

In the last league match against Malaysia, the Indian team seemed to wilt under the pressure coming from the requirement of a two-goal victory that would have placed them in the final.

Oltmans said India will be using the Azlan Shah Cup to test its bench strength and style of play ahead of this year's important tournaments like the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final in London, HWL Final in Bhubaneswar and Asia Cup in Dhaka.

Mumbai play their five home games at a stretch here from Saturday till the end of the month.