Indian hockey team will suffer if Walsh leaves: Oltmans

New Delhi, Nov 16: Indian hockey's high performance director Roelant Oltmans said Saturday the national team's preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics will suffer if current chief coach Terry Walsh does not accept a new contract from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Walsh, who guided India to an Asian games gold medal after 16 years, resigned Oct 21 citing "difficulty in adjusting to the functioning of the country's bureaucratic system" and is now serving one-month resignation notice period.

SAI director general Jiji Thomson said the Australian will be offered a new contract before Oct 19.

"Of course it (Walsh not staying as chief coach) will have an effect. He has proved that he is a very good coach and if that happens, it will have an effect," Oltmans said.

But Oltmans is hopeful that Walsh and the SAI will come up with a solution which will ensure that Walsh stays as Indian coach.

"We had some constructive discussions regarding the matter. I am hoping that they will reach an agreement."