Roelant Oltmans: Being sacked is part of our job but I was still surprised

India got off to a good start in their Hockey World Cup campaign as they beat South Africa by a scoreline of 5-0. Former junior men’s team coach, Harendra Singh, was given credit for their win and their attacking style of play on Wednesday. However, before Singh was in charge of the team it was legendary Dutch coach, Roelant Oltmans, who was the head of the Indian team and was sacked out of the blue in September 2017.

Oltmans, who came to India as High Performance Director in 2013, played an instrumental role in reviving Indian hockey and had assumed the reigns of the main team for nearly five years came before he was sacked by the national federation for lack of results. The Dutch coach revealed that he was more surprised than hurt after he was let go.

“I was not hurt (about the sudden sacking). That is part of our coaching job but I must admit I was surprised. There are certain moments people take decisions and you need to accept the decisions the way they are,” Oltmans told PTI sources.

During his time in India, Oltmans strengthened the grassroot level of Indian hockey while he also worked with all the national teams at junior or senior level. He also worked with the domestic coaches, including current India chief coach Harendra Singh, and played a key role in developing the sport in the country.

“I worked here (in India) for 5 years with a lot of pleasure. I enjoyed my stay here. India has a rich hockey history and I am satisfied that I could contribute something to Indian hockey’s rebirth.

“I am happy to see that Indian hockey in this period has grown. This is a new team with new group of people. I have worked with a lot of these players. I hope the best for India apart from one game (against his own team Malaysia if they face each other in knockout stages),” Oltmans added.