Indian hockey’s foreign coach: It’s between Oltmans & Nobbs

Uthra G Chaturvedi

The Day Two deliberations to pick India’s hockey coach saw the list of contenders shrinking from three to two. With the least experienced of the contenders — Jacques Brinkman — out of contention by the time the jury broke their huddle at noon, the race now happens to be between Dutchman Roelant Oltmans and Aussie Michael Nobbs.

Though, later in the evening, one of the panelist — Sport Authority of India DG Desh Deepak Verma — said that they had zeroed in on the coach but his fellow decision-makers were of the view that the final call will be taken by the Sports Ministry. “We had three candidates and have zeroed in on one name. We will now forward that to the ministry,” Verma said.

Though, others in the jury — HI secretary general Narinder Batra, executive director Anupam Ghulati, selection panel members SS Grewal, Jagbir Singh, Pargat Singh, government observers Dilip Tirkey and Harbinder Singh — said that both Nobbs and Oltmans were still in contention.

Those in the know say that, though, Oltmans was the first choice, but in case the ministry didn’t agree to the Dutchman’s demands, Nobbs would get the nod. “There is no questioning Oltmans’ credentials but he has a set of demands. He wants to bring his family here and wants to bring to India his support staff. Plus money is always a factor,” a source said. Another panel member admitted that while Nobbs’ presentation was impressive, his lack of experience at the top level was a concern. “We want the best for Indian hockey. Nobbs wants to replicate the entire Australian system here and he needs time for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Verma informed that the coach will be contracted till 2016 Olympics. “We are looking at a long-term association with incentives promised for Olympic qualification. At the same time, the performance will also be reviewed after every major event,” he said.

Roelant Oltmans

“I made my presentation and focused on areas which I think are important for the future of Indian hockey. I want India to be one of the best in the world but that is a long-term process. (Qualifying for the) Olympics is important but in the long run a consistent performance is what matters.

“For the past few years there has been participation but only participation is not important; what is important is winning. To make India a potent force in world hockey again we need a long-term development programme. But what we have to make everyone understand including the officials and the media and the fans and the players is that it will take time.

“Having been Pakistan coach will definitely be helpful because it will help me understand the psyche better. But we have to accept that there is nothing called a style of play; what matters is the consistency and the results. And I am sorry, if anyone thinks India can go back to the top with a 5-3-2 system of attacking play they are mistaken.”

Michael Nobbs

“My presentation was good, interesting and very co-operative. Hopefully, we can achieve something good for Indian hockey. Hope we can take Indian hockey back to the number one position. They (India) would love to qualify for the 2012 Olympics but it would be difficult in such a short-time.”