Hockey India (HI) was on familiar turf yesterday when they announced a new chief coach for the men's hockey team. Australian Graham Reid, 54, is the eighth such appointment since 2010. He has been handed a contract till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a provision for a performance-linked extension till the 2022 World Cup.

However, Reid's compatriot and a victim of HI's hire and fire policy, Michael Nobbs, is convinced he won't last that long. "Graham has a very tough job. I don't think he'll make it to 2022. He first needs to help India qualify for the Olympics. Though that's relatively easy as the qualifier will be played at home and teams will be ranked below India, he then has to ensure India win a medal in Tokyo. Anything less is an abject failure because India has spent a lot of money and time to develop a team worthy of a medal," Nobbs told mid-day from Sydney.