NEW DELHI, Oct 16: India’s field hockey chiefs have hired renowned coach Ric Charlesworth to help the eight-time champions qualify for next year’s Beijing Olympics.

The former Australian captain has been signed on as technical advisor by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), which is desperate to avoid the humiliation of missing the Olympics for the first time.

India must win a six-nation qualifying tournament in Santiago, Chile in March to make the trip to Beijing. Other teams in the tournament are Britain, Austria, Bangladesh, Chile, and Egypt.

Charlesworth, 54, will work alongside men’s national coach Joaquim Carvalho and also spend time with the women’s team, who have also not yet qualified for the Olympics.

“Charlesworth will be with the team before the Chile trip,” said IHF secretary K. Jothikumaran. “He will be an asset.”

Charlesworth played in four Olympics between 1972 and 1988 – missing the western-boycotted Moscow Games in 1980 – and was part of the Australian team which won the World Cup in London in 1986.

After retiring in 1988, Charlesworth took up coaching and moulded the Australian women’s squad, nicknamed the Hockeyroos, into one of the most formidable teams in the sport’s history.

Under him, the Hockeyroos won the 1996 and 2000 Olympic gold medals, the World Cup in 1994 and 1998, the Commonwealth Games gold in 1998 and four Champions Trophy titles.

The multi-faceted Charlesworth, a doctor by profession, was also a member of Australia’s parliament for 10 years until 1993 and played first-class cricket for Western Australia.

Carvalho, who masterminded India’s Asia Cup triumph in September, welcomed Charlesworth’s appointment and said he was confident of developing a good working relationship with the Australian.

“We spoke on the phone and both of us are on the same wavelength. I have played with him and know him well,” said Carvalho, a former India international.

“Ric’s stature in the sport is well-known. We welcome him and want his inputs and plans

to help improve Indian hockey.”—AFP