NEW DELHI: India’s hockey coach Roelant Oltmans said Tuesday that skipper Sardar Singh had been replaced as captain for the Olympics as he backed the sport’s one-time giants to continue their recent revival in Rio.

After unveiling the 16-strong men and women’s squads which will travel to Brazil, Oltmans said that goalkeeper Sreejesh Ravindran would lead the men’s team under a new “rotational captaincy” programme.

Singh, who has been captain of the team for the last for years, was picked in the squad and Oltmans insisted he remained a key player.

But the move comes after he was accused in February of sexually harassing a woman who claims to have been his former girlfriend, accusations that Singh has strenuously denied.

“I have been here for a three and a half years now and what I observed is a fairly hierarchic structure and when there is only one captain for long then the players shy away from responsibility,” said Oltmans.

“In a team, during a game, I need players who take responsibility. Changing the captaincy on the pitch gives far more responsibility.

“Sardar is an important player but I am sure this (rotational captaincy) will help the team and it will help him as well,” he added at a press conference in New Delhi.

India once dominated the men’s game at the Olympics and has won a total of eight golds. However, the last of these was in Moscow back in 1980 and they finished last at the London games four years ago.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2016