Van Gent named strategic coach of Indian hockey team

New Delhi, Nov 7 Hockey India on Saturday confirmed the appointment of Dutchman Roger van Gent as the strategic coach for the men’s national team till the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Van Gent will be joining the coaching staff for the Indian men’s hockey team and will be assisting High Performance director and chief coach Roelant Oltmans to work towards the much awaited Hero Hockey World League (HWL) Final to start later this month and for the Olympics.

Van Gent embarked on his coaching career after securing the International Hockey Federation (FIH) high performance coaching qualification in 2000. Ever since then he has worked with various domestic teams in the Netherlands. 

He himself has been a part of the first men’s team of a club, MEP in Boxtel, in the head division of Netherlands for a decade (1978-88). 

As a FIH high performance coach, he added to the staff of the Kenyan men’s team in 2007.

“Roger’s track record speaks for him and I am happy that he is coming on board in the coaching staff for the Indian’s men’s hockey team. He has strong strategic experience and I am sure his inputs will help the team and Roelant in bridging the gaps and work towards a successful campaign for the upcoming Hero HWL Final and the 2016 Rio Olympics,” HI secretary general Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad said in a release.

The Indian team is currently training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru.

The Sardar Singh-led side will meet Australia in a three-match test series starting from November 19 and will participate in the HWL Final from November 27.