Oltmans takes charge as HI begins coach hunt

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Roelant Oltmans will double up as a coach-cum-high performance manager till the Asia Cup in August

Hockey India’s decision to “remove” Australian Michael Nobbs as coach of the Indian men’s hockey team has come at a crucial time.

India have the Asia Cup next in six weeks time, and need to win the tournament to avoid the embarrassment of missing a World Cup berth for the first-time ever.
Under Nobbs, in the last two years, the team struggled to adopt a proper style of play and even suffered an embarrassing last-place finish at the London Olympics last year.
“Communication gap” and “lack of technical acumen” are two of the major reasons for the Australian’s exit, who was initially given a contract until the 2016 Rio Games. Nobbs, who played in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, was “under pressure” with HI demanding results and players’ unable to adjust to his confusing style of coaching.
“Changes were needed,” said high performance director Roelant Oltmans when asked about Nobbs’ exit. “It wasn’t working... Nobbs wasn’t able to deliver results the way he wanted to, and Hockey India did not get the results as they wanted.”
The Dutchman said he would double up as a coach-cum-high performance manager till the Asia Cup in August, following which a foreign coach would be appointed.
“It is a temporary arrangement. The upcoming six weeks are very crucial, and we will have to begun work in the right direction,” said Oltmans, who was roped in five months ago.
HI, meanwhile, said that Nobbs had offered to resign last month as he felt he wasn’t able to contribute significantly to Indian hockey.

What led to Nobbs’ ouster?
The Australian’s approach of switching between an attacking style of play and extreme defence — that he advocated after the failed London Olympics campaign — often had his players on the back foot. India struggled to beat even the Asian nations in the last two years. In addition, players were always blamed for losses signifying lack of responsibility from the coach.
Things reached a breaking point during the World League Round 3 in Rotterdam, Holland, where India failed to earn a direct World Cup berth.
Nobbs, said a team member, accused the players of being “consistent failures”, claiming that he had taken Indian hockey “10 years ahead” during his two-year stint.
It was then that Oltmans intervened and decided to take charge.
“The sad thing is that we were never taught anything significant during the camps. At a tournament in the past, the team members had asked him to explain the style of play that he wanted us to follow. He simply asked us to play the (former coach Jose) Brasa style!”
Former India skipper Zafar Iqbal says lack of communication between the coach and the players was a huge factor behind the decision.
“Nobbs was brought in with a lot of expectations. But it was clear since last year that he had a lot of shortcomings. He wasn’t able to implement any of his plans successfully. Communication was definitely one of the areas.”

Gurbaj, Sarvanjit set to return
HI might have announced the 48 probables for the Asia Cup camp that begins in Bengaluru on July 16, but talks are on to bring back experienced midfielder Gurbaj Singh and strikers Sarvanjit Singh and Bharat Chikkara, it is reliably learnt.
Newly-appointed assistant coach M.K. Kaushik, in fact, had got in touch with a few players last week over their availability for the crucial event.
“I was given a report of indiscipline on Gurbaj, but I do not know if it was correct,” said Oltmans.
“I have seen him play in international hockey and the recent Hockey India League. He is an asset for any team.”
Both Gurbaj and Sarvanjit were sidelined after the London Olympics, while the promising Chhikara has been sitting it out for more than an year.
Nobbs flew back to Australia on Monday night, and will return a week later to complete the paper work over his exit.