Certain Team India players swear by Dutchman's coaching methods which suited seniors & juniors; High Performance Director John is temporary boss
Roelant Oltmans
Indian hockey chief coach Roelant Oltmans' sacking has struck this young Indian team like a thunderbolt.
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Some members of Team India, all of whom were successfully introduced into the senior team during the last few months, are hurt.
"Coach Oltmans brought in as many as six young players into the senior team for the recent Europe tour and we did well there against teams like Belgium and the Netherlands in their own backyard. His sacking is a jolt because many of the younger players' confidence will be shattered," said a senior member in the Indian hockey team's inner circle on condition of anonymity. High Performance Director David John will be in charge till a replacement is found.
Another junior player added: "Oltmans laid down strict parameters for selection into the team.
"He had a fitness benchmark that every player had to pass regardless of the player's reputation. He was always fair. He treated both junior and senior players with equal respect."
Hockey India claimed Oltmans was sacked because of inconsistent results against Europeans teams and for particularly losing to lower-ranked teams like Malaysia and Canada recently, but there have been some outstanding results that have been ignored, felt another player.
"Okay, the sixth-place finish at the HWL semi-finals in London was poor and maybe the 2016 Rio Olympic Games' eighth place too. But then, we won the Asian Champions Trophy gold, a bronze at the Sultan Azlan Shah in Malaysia and let's not forget the historic silver medal performance at the FIH Champions Trophy in Australia -- a first in over three decades. How can these good results be ignored," asked a senior member who has also been appointed as captain of the team in the past under Oltmans' multiple captain theory.
Mumbai greats back Roelant
Indian hockey should be grateful to outgoing chief hockey coach Roelant Oltmans, felt Mumbai hockey stalwarts Joaquim Carvalho, Merwyn Fernandis and MM Somaya.
Oltmans was sacked by Hockey India on Saturday following a performance analysis over the last year or so. "The World Cup will be held in India next year and this is no time to sack a coach like Oltmans, who has been with the team for three to four years. He knows this bunch of players the best," said Carvalho, himself a former India coach.
Fernandis felt the departure of Oltmans should be viewed as an "honourable exit" rather than a sacking. "Hockey India should not be given any credit for their powerplay tactics here. They cannot have the pleasure of sacking someone of the reputation and achievements of Oltmans. He is leaving with his head held high," said Fernandis.
Somaya, another Olympian and a deep thinker of the game, concluded: "As a coach, Oltmans is unquestionably one of the best in the world if not THE best. I can't comment on why he has been sacked, but I feel some of the good results he delivered with this team are unmatchable. Let's quickly appoint another good coach now and move on because the World Cup is not very far away."
Batra: I've no hand in axe
Though there are murmurs in Indian hockey circles that former Hockey India strongman and current International Hockey Federation chief Narendra Batra has had a behind-the-scenes hand in the sacking of India chief coach Roelant Oltmans, the man himself would like the world to believe he has nothing to do with it.
"I'm the chief of hockey's world governing body and so I am not responsible or accountable for individual nations. I have nothing to do with the sacking of Oltmans," Batra told mid-day on Saturday.
When reminded of his long association with Indian hockey, Batra shot back: "That's in the past. Currently, I have nothing to do with Indian hockey. Hockey India functions independently and does not consult me in any of their decision-making processes."
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