We need to improve our defence: Roelant Oltmans

With just five months left for the Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team are in a preparatory camp in Bengaluru working day in and day out to prepare for the Games, and Indian hockey team coach Roelant Oltmans believes that his team needs to improve their defence before the crucial matches in the Olympics.

“We need to improve our defence. We're trying to add a new way - it's not completely new - of defending. We're also looking to be more dynamic in our attack. These are the two main things that matter to us because we have to be less predictable. We have more forwards in the camp this time. And the difference among them is not that big, so it's going to be a good fight," the Dutchman was quoted as saying by The times of India.

After the preparatory camp, India will travel to Malaysia for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April and the Champions Trophy in England in June and Oltmans said that the 20-25 games before the Olympics will be crucial for the preparation of the team.

“We travel for Sultan Azlan Shah, then the Champions Trophy followed by the Six Nations event in Valencia and stop at Madrid for five days en route to Rio. In Rio, we play a couple of practice games. That's almost 21-22 games. It's quite a number but it's good. We're also using the services of some new players in the camp. It's a chance for some of them to get exposure as well. We have enough matches for them. The (first team) players can't play all the games," the 61-year old said.

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