Oltmans ready for greater challenges

Indian hockey coach Roelant Oltmans declared that his boys were ready to take on “greater challenges” following their performance in the just concluded Europe Tour from which they returned on Saturday.

The team scored an emphatic 2-0 win in the two-match series against France and secured a 2-1 series win against Spain in a three-match series.

“The team performed exceptionally well in the European Tour which proves that our players are ready to take on greater challenges. The highlight was that we did not give away ball possession easily to the opponents and with the FIH Hockey World League Final scheduled to take place towards the end of this year, I hope the team will do its best and display high-level performances,” Oltmans said.

Captain Sardar Singh said, “We are in high spirits after our win in the European Tour. I think we need to work on converting scoring opportunities through penalty corners which will be our emphasis before the FIH World League Final later in the year. The young players played exceptionally well, which is gradually adding to our strengths as we have a bigger pool of players to choose from before each tournament.”