One of Indian hockey's noted strikers and former India captain Dhanraj Pillay has said he can turn the Indian hockey team into a winning unit in just one year if given the charge of the men's national side.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) last week sacked Indian men's team's chief coach Michael Nobbs labelling his two-year stint as "unsatisfactory". Hockey India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans has been asked to take over the team's command until Nobbs's replacement is named. But Pillay says India don't necessarily need a foreign coach.
"India has no dearth of talent as far as good coaches are concerned. Give me the charge and I promise to deliver results in one year provided I am given a free hand," noted daily Deccan Chronicle quoted Pillay as saying.
"Indian hockey does not need a foreign coach. We have been spending a lot of money on foreign coaches but from Gerhard Rach [in 2004 Athens] to Micheal Nobbs, [2012 London Olympics], the outcome is the same. Indian hockey is back to square one and we are now struggling to qualify for the World Cup," the former India captain was quoted by Hindustan Times.
Pillay, who is the coach reigning national champions Air India, said that his success with Air India is proof enough for his credentials as a coach. "There are instances in the past when coach of the national championship winning side was given the charge of senior men's team. There are many examples like Cedric D'souza, Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Rajinder Singh or Harendra Singh. Then why not me?"
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