New Delhi: In a surprising move, women’s national hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne was named chief coach of the senior men’s side Friday, replacing the sacked Roelant Oltmans.
World Cup-winning junior team coach Harendra Singh was appointed high performance specialist coach of the senior women’s team.
While Marijne will take charge September 20 after returning from an ongoing tour of Europe with the women’s team, Harendra will be on the job Saturday.
The decisions were announced by newly-appointed sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on his official twitter page.
According to a top Hockey India (HI) official, both Marijne and Harendra have been given a tenure till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The decision came was a bolt from the blue as HI had advertised for Oltmans’ successor on its website just three days ago. HI had set September 15 as the deadline to apply for the post. However, the official said HI withdrew the advertisement Thursday.
“The advertisement has been withdrawn as both HI and the Sports Authority of India felt Marijne is the best candidate for the job having spent more than six months in the country already,” the official informed.
It has been learnt that Marijne was initially reluctant to take up the role. The 43-year-old Dutchman, who was appointed as the Indian women’s coach in February earlier this year, has never worked with a national men’s team before. But he agreed after HI and SAI convinced him.
World Cup winning captain Ajit Pal Singh expressed shock at the decision of HI and SAI. “In my opinion the appointment defies logic. This man (Marijne) has never coached a senior men’s team. He hardly knows the players,” Ajit Pal stated.
“Harendra has been given charge of the women’s team charge but he too has never been involved with the eves. The Olympic cycle has already started and they will now take time to settle down,” he added.
Press Trust of India
