NEW DELHI: India on Friday put women’s field hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne in charge of the men’s team following the sacking of fellow Dutchman Roelant Oltmans.

India’s new Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, an Olympic medalist, announced the appointment on Twitter.

“Current chief coach of Indian senior women hockey team, Mr Waltherus [Sjoerd] Marijne, will take over as chief coach of Indian senior men hockey team,” Rathore wrote.

Hockey India sacked Oltmans on Saturday after a poor European tour. It placed an advertisement this week, which was quickly taken down.

The 43-year-old Marijne is expected to start this month after returning from a tour of Europe with the women’s team.

“I’m excited to take the new role and thank Hockey India for showing their confidence in my abilities,” Marijne was quoted as saying in a statement by the hockey federation.

In February, Marijne and Eric Wonink were named as chief coach and analytical coach of the women’s team until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But now India’s Harendra Singh takes over as the chief coach of the women’s team.

Oltmans, who joined as performance director in 2013, was sacked after two years as coach because of a string of poor performances.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2017