JOIN USAs Michael Nobbs made a quiet exit from Indian hockey, the focus was quick to shift on its high performance director Roelant Oltmans, who would temporarily step in as the coach of the national side.
The legendary Dutchman was not unmindful of the “growing tension” but chose to take the responsibility in his stride.
Oltmans was quick to brush aside his issues with Nobbs’ coaching style and acknowledged the Australian’s did good work in some areas. “I am no one to rate Nobbs or assess his performance. He did some good work in certain areas like fitness of the team. Unfortunately, they did not have some good results. But I know Nobbs would be the first one to be disappointed about it,” Oltmans, who had coached the Dutch team for 14 years, told Deccan Herald.
“Nobbs spoke to me and cited personal reasons for his resignation.”
The 58-year-old Dutchman said the Indian team needed to start believing in itself. “I know after their recent performance, the tension has grown. But it is part of our jobs. In some countries it is more. But the Indian team has to start believing in itself. They have some experienced players in Sardar Singh, V Raghunath, (Gurwinder Singh), Chandi, SV Suniel and some really good youngsters in Mandeep Singh. The important thing is that they jell as a team,” he said.
Oltmans said he would be following his own style when coaching the side. “I am here only for six weeks. But I will definitely be bringing in my own style, which would be different, not because it is better than someone else but that is the way I function. “
Under Oltmans, the Dutch team won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, two FIH World Cups, three FIH Champions Trophy and the Euro Hockey League.