Former hockey head coach lists issues behind stunted growth of sport in Pakistan

Former hockey head coach Roelant Oltmans has revealed the problems that the sport faces which in turn, has stunted its growth.

During an Instagram live session with former captain Salman Akbar, the Dutchman said that everyone in Pakistan and in other Asian countries want overnight success but do not understand the grueling process behind it.

"Expectations are always high. There’s only one thing that counts to them and that’s winning a gold medal but people forget about the process that is required and it's a long process," Oltmans said.

"If you start something today, you’ll be able to achieve results in 2032 Olympics. Pakistani people need to understand that if we want to come back to the glorious past, then that it won’t come overnight. There must be long term planning."

Oltmans, who has also coached Indian side, said that Pakistan could learn a thing or two from its rivals and how they have improved their game over the years.

"It starts from the money that is involved that is huge. India is putting a lot money on hockey. They understand that if you want to achieve something then you’ll have to make sure you’re progressing," he said.

He also blamed the attitude of senior players with junior players as one of the hurdles for youngsters' growth and even narrated an instance.

"There is hierarchic system and one of the first things that I noticed that if a senior player is asking for a ball or is telling young players what to do, they immediately follow it. So, they aren’t working on their own development anymore, they’re just listening to what seniors are saying," he said.

"I saw that in a conditioning session, one senior was running on the top and junior wasn’t allowed to pass him. I remember Nadeem, the captain at that time, as soon he was asking for a ball – even if he was defended by five players – the player would pass the ball to him immediately."

He also mentioned that communicating with players was also a challenge for him due to the language barrier but he was not short of words in praising the group of youngsters that he worked with during his two tenures as coach.

According to Oltmans, Pakistani players are talented and have the potential but need the environment to thrive.

"If Pakistan wants to come back stronger in international hockey then they’ll have to see what happened over the years because potential is there. I have seen some good players, but there must be a sustainable program for a long period to make sure Pakistan is back at the top, if they want to," he said.

He also highlighted the challenges he faced from former Olympians who were in the selection committee with him. According to Oltmans, he was not comfortable with having selection trials at the time when players were supposed to be resting.

"I never take my decision on my own. I always discuss it with my staff and then we come to a group of players that we feel have the best chance to win." Oltmans said.

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