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There may be talk that Hockey India High Performance Manager Roelant Oltsmans is having a rethink on his role after spending more than two years in the job since being appointed in January 2013. Any such talk will make the Indian hockey lovers sweat simply because they don’t want another high quality coach to exit after Terry Walsh with the 2016 Rio Olympics just a year away.
Of course, one has to understand that Oltmans is sixty plus – 62 to be precise – so a long time away from home and family can be difficult. But, the celebrated former Dutch coach put all doubts to rest. “Let me assure that I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know who said I’m having a rethink but I never said anything of that sort. I will be with Indian Hockey at least till the 2016 Rio Olympics.”
The words of Oltmans must be extremely comforting from the Indian hockey perspective for we don’t want any setbacks in our Olympic preparations. It has to be said that Oltmans has forged a good working relation with Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the bonhomie is reflected in the way he goes about his business.
Oltmans said it’s difficult to predict whether he will continue beyond the 2016 Rio Olympics. “As a human it is better to live for the present and remained focused on the goals ahead. As I have said I will stay put till the 2016 Olympics but if you ask him beyond that, it won’t fair on my part to have an answer, only time will tell.”
He also brushed aside the seriousness of the Hockey India asking for a report to be submitted by July 16. “I don’t think it’s an exceptional case. It’s all part of the process – after every tournament whether we perform well or perform badly we followed a process of submitting a report to HI. I don’t know why people are reading too much into it.”
The cobwebs of speculation of ‘what will’, ‘what will not’ has been put a lid on and one can hope for Hockey India to make us all know what corrective measures they are initiating in the wake of India’s appalling performances against Australia, Belgium and Great Britain in the World League semifinal round.
