Dutch coach Oltmans in race for Tamil Nadu hockey academy job

Roelant Oltmans, who has coached the Netherlands, India and Pakan men’s hockey teams, is among the high-profile names who have applied for the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)’s upcoming academies that will come up in various dricts of the state.
Erik Wonink, who coached India’s junior women’s team between 2012-17, has also applied. Renowned Australian coach Anthonny Farry was also in the fray, but dropped out of the interview after being appointed as analytical coach of the Indian women’s team.
Ever since SDAT came out with its plan to hire overseas coaches for various disciplines – jumps, sprints, swimming, hockey and tennis – it has received a good response. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the SDAT conducted interviews via video conferencing to hire coaches for athletics and hockey. It is understood that the SDAT has been overwhelmed with the response shown overseas coaches and the appointments are set to be finalised next week.
The overseas coaches, if appointed, will draw a pay cheque of Rs 6 lakh per month. While the programme is for a period of three years, it is understood that the coaches will be offered an 11-month contract with a review at the end of each year with the nitty-gritties of it being discussed.
In the past, Indian sports federations have faced challenges when it comes to foreign coaches staying put in the country round the year. However, it is understood that the SDAT has made it non-negotiable that the foreign coaches have to be in the state for 11 months with a 10-day break available every three months. The coaches are also allowed to take a 20-day break after six months apart from the annual month-long leave.
Roelant Oltmans who worked for a short period with Pakan in 2003-04, said his second tenure with Pakan hockey would be more productive. (Source: Express Archive)
With regards to the hockey coach, it is understood that he would be stationed at Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi drict. The SDAT is coming up with a new hockey stadium-cum-academy, being built at a cost of Rs 7 crore, in Kovilpatti which is a hub of hockey in the state. Oltmans has also worked with the Madhya Pradesh state association as a consultant in the recent past.
Other notables
With regards to track and field, among the coaches who have applied is Bedros Bedrosian from Romania, who was part of the Athletics Federation of India. Bedrosian was the former national jumps coach and is credited with polishing athletes like Ankit Sharma and Mayookha Johny, who still holds the triple jump national mark. The Romanian had a rocky stint as national coach with frequent fallouts with the federation.
The other big name is Yoandri Betazos, currently the head jumps coach at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sports and who trains several bright stars, including long jump national record holder Jeswin Aldrin. Betanzos, 40, a two-time World Championship silver medall, comes from a family of sportspersons. His father is still an active boxing coach, his mother was a sprinter, and his brother is a former jumper.
Others who attended the interview include Samma Armand Alex (Africa), Alessandro Vigo (Spain) and Jani Ratia (Spain). Horace Michael Vassel (Jamaica), who had applied for throwing events, didn’t turn up for the interview as he is already employed the Odisha government.

The coaches, handpicked the SDAT, will work with the state sports units in identifying a pool of 30-60 players, who will be part of the camp. While Kovilpatti has been chosen as the hub for hockey, it is not clear where other disciplines will have their bases. The SDAT, under state sports miner Udhayanidhi Stalin, has already come up with a revamped sports policy and has picked Chennai, Trichy, Madurai and Ooty as base cities for its Olympic Academies.
The Tamil Nadu government is also coming up with a Sports City on the outskirts of Chennai, which will have infrastructure for various disciplines under one roof, including biomechanics and sports science.
With regards to tennis coaches, the interview is expected to take place in the final week of the month and is likely to be presided over Vijay Amritraj.