Times of India: Reid quits as Australian hockey team coach after Olympic disappointment

PERTH (Australia): Graham Reid has quit as coach of Australia’s men’s field hockey team in the wake of its Olympic failure in Rio de Janeiro.

The No. 1-ranked Kookaburras were World League Final and Champions Trophy winners and were gold-medal favorites heading to Rio, but had group-stage losses to Spain and Belgium and were knocked out in the quarterfinals in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands. That loss ended a run of six consecutive Olympics in which Australia won a medal.

“I have decided that after eight years with the men’s program, six as assistant coach and two as head coach, that it is the right time for a change in direction for both the program and myself,” Reid, a former Olympic silver medalist who was appointed to the top job in 2014, said in a statement Thursday. “This has been a tough decision and I respect Hockey Australia giving me time to consider all options.”

Assistant Paul Gaudoin will fill in as interim head coach for next month’s series against New Zealand.