Oltmans’ rotation policy might help him test players, but he needs to start delivering results soon
A transition phase in any sporting team is tricky for coaches. Trying to zero down the best personnel from a large group of players while keeping an eye on results can be a tough act to balance.
India hockey senior men's head coach Roelant Oltmans is dealing with this predicament.
Having identified a pool of players for the next Olympic cycle, Oltmans is trying to figure out his best combination from that. He mapped out three events to do that: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, 3-Nations Invitational Tournament and Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final.
In all these three tourneys, India dished out below-par performances in most matches. The team finished sixth in the recently-concluded HWL Semi-Final, losing to lower-ranked Malaysia and Canada in key games.
Oltmans's experimentation theory means he might not be losing sleep over these results, more so considering India have automatically qualified for the HWL Final and 2018 World Cup (WC) due to their host status. However, even he would know that he and his boys will need to start delivering results sooner rather than later with the WC staring at their face next year.
"I'm fine with Oltmans saying experimentation. However, there should also be a clear timeline (specifying) of when this experimentation stops," said Viren Rasquinha, former India captain and member of the government-constituted Olympic Task Force.
"Because then there can't be any excuses. We can't go into a 2018 WC saying we're a younger teams compared to others," he added.
Rasquinha said he isn't happy with the quality of hockey showcased by India in the tournament, experimentation notwithstanding.
"The hockey we played was not impressive at all. If this is the bench strength, we have a long way to go. We beat teams that don't really matter and then we lost to Canada and Malaysia.
"If you see over the last two years, we're not able to win when it really matters. Every time a crunch pool match or knockout match comes and there's pressure, we haven't risen to the occasion. It was the same in this tournament," the Mumbaikar said.
After the loss against Canada, Oltmans felt the attitude of the players wasn't right.
"Canada had to win to qualify (for the WC). We had already qualified … there is a difference between playing a tournament that is do or die or not. And for us it is not do or die," the Dutchman added.
Rasquinha said such a thought-process negated the whole point of experimentation.
"That's not a valid excuse for me. Then what are we experimenting for? If players are not playing for everything, then why has he given the fringe players a chance? The young guys should be fighting for their places in the team," he said.
But despite some knives starting to come out against Oltmans, Rasquinha backed the Dutchman, asking the players to stand up and be counted.
"Oltmans has to clearly state when does this experimentation stop? And when will results be priority? What are his targets for the WC, or the 2020 Olympics?
"Having said that, he's the best person to be coaching the Indian team. For me, he's doing his best, Hockey India and Sports Authority of India are doing their best. Finally, the players have to deliver.
"Are the players standing up and taking responsibility? I'm not seeing that at the moment," he said.
India in HWL Semi-Final
beat Scotland 4-1
beat Canada 3-0
beat Pakistan 7-1
lost to The Netherlands 1-3
lost to Malaysia 2-3
beat Pakistan 6-1
Lost to Canada 2-3
DID YOU KNOW?
The Indian team had finished 4th in the previous edition of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in 2015
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