New Delhi: Indian men's hockey team's interim chief coach Roelant Oltmans did well to help the team finish second at the 9th Asia Cup hockey tournament, but he thinks he will return to his full-time job of Hockey India's High Performance Director, which will follow the appointment of a new coach.
Hockey India (HI) asked Oltmans to take over as coach on a short-term basis after Michael Nobbs left the job last month. In the short time available to prepare for the Asia Cup, Oltmans did well to guide the team to a silver-medal finish after losing the final 3-4 in a close battle against South Korea, who successfully defended their title for a fourth Asia Cup trophy.
The good job done by Oltmans led to murmurs that he might be asked to continue, but the Dutchman, who led his home nation to Olympic and World Cup success, refuted that, telling The Indian Express that a new coach will be appointed soon.
"I met the Hockey India secretary general [Narinder Batra] on Tuesday and discussed the future plans. My contract as the interim coach was till the end of the Asia Cup and I don't think that will change," Oltmans told The Indian Express in an interview. "In all likelihood, we will get a new man for the job ... We have begun the process and will ensure the appointment is made soon," he said.
Talking about the success of a young, inexperienced Indian team that also achieved the objective of qualifying for the World Cup, Oltmans said he was happy with their performance, especially young forward Mandeep Singh and debutant striker Ramandeep Singh.
"Mandeep scored five goals in as many matches and he is only 18. The kind of understanding he shows is quite incredible. Ramandeep has a very good vision and Mandeep has a very good sense of positioning. So that is a nice pair up front for us."
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