Roelant Oltmans sacked: As national coach exits, here's a look at his journey in Indian hockey

On Saturday, Roelant Oltmans’ reign as head coach of India’s national men’s hockey team came to an end after Hockey India sacked him for inconsistent performances and a lack of trust over his long term objectives. [caption id=“attachment_3844797” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of sacked India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans. AFP[/caption] Oltmans’ journey with Indian hockey started in 2013 when he came in as the high performance director, and later became the national team’s head coach in 2015 after Paul van Ass was dismissed. The current high performance director David John will be in charge of the team till a new head coach is found. The decision was taken after a three-day review meeting, where Hockey India was unimpressed with Oltmans’ presentation about the future of the national team. “He (Oltmans) gave his presentation over the past two days but the committee felt the team now needs a new direction as it had not performed as we would have liked under him,” John told PTI. “We want consistency. We want to finish in top three in international events. We want to win the Asia Cup, Hockey World League Finals and Asian Games. We want to finish on the podium in Commonwealth Games, next year’s World Cup and 2020 Olympics,” John added.     After getting fired, Oltmans told PTI, “We all (foreigners) know India is not the easiest of countries to work – especially in the sporting sector because of a host of issues. But in my mind, I was always prepared. When I took up the offer, I knew someday I will be sacked, but I was ready for that. “I have no regrets because I know I have left a certain legacy for Indian hockey in the past four-and-a-half-years. The team has made significant progress and I just hope the process which I had set continues in the future,” Oltmans added. Here’s a look at some of the major highlights of Oltmans’ tryst with Indian hockey: – January, 2013: Hockey India appoints Oltmans as high performance director. His main job was to formulate a long-term vision for senior, junior and sub-junior hockey teams. – October, 2014: The then head coach of the men’s national team Terry Walsh had resigned from his post over financial dispute and Hockey India put Oltmans in charge on a temporary basis. – December, 2014: As an interim coach, Oltmans looked after the team in the Champions Trophy where India reached the last four stage. In the semis, they lost to arch-rivals Pakistan and also had to suffer defeat against Australia in the bronze medal match. – February, 2015: Oltmans was relieved of his duties as interim coach as Hockey India named Paul van Ass of Netherlands as coach on a long-term basis. – July, 2015: Just months into his job, van Ass was forced to exit after his alleged on-field public spat with the then Hockey India president Narinder Batra. Oltmans was then asked to take over the men’s team as head coach till the 2016 Rio Olympics. – August, 2015: India had a good start under new coach Oltmans as they put up impressive shows against France and Spain during their Europe tour. – December, 2015: Oltmans oversaw India’s remarkable outing in the Hockey World League in which they defeated Netherlands in penalty shootout to clinch the bronze medal. – April, 2016: Oltmans guided India to the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where they lost to Australia 0-4. – June, 2016: India and Australia once again met in the final of the Champions Trophy in London and Oltmans’ team once again faced defeat in penalty shootout. – August, 2016: At the Rio Olympics, India qualified for the quarter-finals where they lost to eventual silver medallists Belgium. – October, 2016: Oltmans’ team won the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia. In the final, they overcame Pakistan’s challenge by beating them 3-2.  – June, 2017: India finished a disappointing sixth in the Hockey World League Semi-Final. Oltmans came under pressure after his team suffered losses against lower-ranked sides like Malaysia and Canada. – August, 2017: Oltmans faced severe criticism when India lost both their matches to Belgium, but victories over Netherlands and Austria gave him some respite. – September, 2017: Hockey India removed Oltmans as head coach for lack of a proper vision and under-performance of the national team.