The Netherlands and India is geographically far off, culturally wide off. So also Pakistan and The Netherlands. But there is one common thread that spins all these three countries in the hockey domain. That is Roelant Oltmans.

As Rio nears, this celebrated coach from Dutch makes his unique record: coach of three national hockey teams for Olympics. Another record is on numbers that he will be going to Olympics for the sixth time.

Oltmans, India’s saviour national coach and original High Performance Director, first went to greatest sporting spectacle the Olympics at Barcelona.

Barring 2000 number he had been to all Olympics as coach or HPD.

After Dutch duty for men and women, Oltamans was drafted into the vortex of Pakistan hockey in the middle of 2003 and his assignment continued upto the 2004 Olympics.

At Athens, Roelant had mixed results with declining Pakistan. The previous semi-finalists, failed to maintain the status. It finished 5th. He was then shown the doors.

At 1992, his first Olympics encounter, he was with the Dutch women.

At Atlanta Olympics, his team defeated Spain 3-1 in the finals, becoming the golden coach. Two years later he saw his men’s team win World Cup at home in Utrecht.

Thereafter he moved to football

Whatever the history, he can be reckoned greatest ever coach if he can get a medal to Sreejesh’s and Co.

India is always a dream destination for every proven coach, and a success here meant managerial capabilities too.

The long coaching journey of Roelant is on a crucial stage, as he moves for Rio to hunt the elusive medal for ever evasive India.

The London performance has given India a big hope, and now he has work against the raising expectation of Indian sub-continent.