Two months after India’s former men’s hockey coach Roelant Oltmans was sacked, he is back in the country, this time as Madhya Pradesh government’s hockey consultant. The Dutchman has been contracted by the state’s sports minister Yasodhara Raje Scindia to prepare a blueprint for the academies, according to a report in the Indian Express.
Oltmans will be a consultant for the state’s academies in Bhopal and Gwalior as well as the 29 other feeder in the state and is contracted for four years, up to January 1, 2021. He began his stint on November 2, continued the report.
Hockey India had parted ways with Oltmans early September after poor performances in the Hockey World League semifinals and European tour, despite a largely successful stint of four-and-a-half years. He started as the High Performance Director in 2013 and continued as coach and was credited with the wins at Champions Trophy and World League finals last year.
Oltmans said that Madhya Pradesh approached him soon after he became a “free agent” and that he had no issues in agreeing despite the negative departure from India.
“I see this as working for the Madhya Pradesh state government, let us make things very clear. And I had no hesitation because my past experience and relations with people in the state government have been positive and it still is,” he told Indian Express.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has a number of academies and they have their coaches. I will try to give my knowledge and information to them along with the directors and the (state) sports minister,” he added from his new posting in Gwalior.
