English
Hockey India has appointed Harendra Singh as coach of India’s men’s team, while Sjoerd Marijne will take over as chief coach of women’s side.
Last week, the board reappointed goalkeeper PR Sreejesh as the captain of the national team till the end of the year, taking the armband away from midfielder Manpreet Singh.
The decision to change coaches comes on the backdrop of men’s hockey team having a disappointing run at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. India finished without a medal after losing to England in the bronze medal playoff match.
The news comes days after David John – India’s high-performance director – said that Marijne will keep his job. “Details of the CWG review meeting will be made public on Tuesday, but I can say that Sjoerd Marijne keeps his job as the chief coach,” John said while talking to Zee Media on Saturday.
Marijne was originally appointed as the chief coach of national women’s team, but he was told to take over the men’s team after the sacking of Roelant Oltmans, who joined the Pakistan national team. Harendra, who led the junior men’s hockey team to the World Cup title in 2016, took charge of the women’s hockey team after Marijne’s departure.
“Harendra Singh brings with himself a wealth of experience and has previously managed a lot of the men’s team players during his stints in the Hockey India League (HIL) and with the junior teams. While Marijne’s first stint with the women’s team was a very successful one and we are sure he will continue to do well with this team as he has done in the past,” said Mohd Mushtaque Ahmed, secretary general of Hockey India.
Both Marine and Harendra expressed their satisfaction over the new roles assigned to them.
“I’m excited to reunite with the women’s team and will look to focus building on the good form exhibited by the team in last six months as we look forward to the Women’s Hockey World Cup 2018,” said Marijne.
Harendra said: “It is an honour for me to now manage the Indian men’s hockey team. It has been a very satisfying journey with the women’s hockey team and I would like to thank Hockey India for entrusting me with the new role as we prepare ourselves for a very important season ahead.”
