Michael Nobbs is India’s hockey coach till 2016 Olympics (Lead)

June 29th, 2011 - 5:56 pm ICT by IANS  

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Australian Michael Jack Nobbs is the new Indian hockey coach and his tenure lasts till the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Nobbs pipped renowned coach Roelant Oltmans of the Netherlands to the post. Another Dutch, Jacques Brinkman, was also in fray. The three had made detailed presentations about their vision for Indian hockey Tuesday.

A committee comprising officials of Hockey India (HI), the Sports Authority of India (SAI), government representatives and Olympians finalised Nobbs’s name, said SAI director general Desh Deepak Verma.

“It was a unanimous decision. The selection was based on several factors, his experience, organising capabilities, bio data and his presentation. What weighed in Nobb’s favour is that the Australian style of play is similar to that of India. We thought if Australia has excelled adopting that style, why can’t we do following our traditional approach.”

Verma said Nobbs will be paid 10,000 Australian dollars a month and if India qualifies for the Olympics he will get a 10 percent salary hike as incentive. “It will be a performance-linked incentive that we will follow during his tenure. The terms and conditions of the salary will be further revised after the 2012 Olympics.”

“We wanted a long-term association and money is not a problem,” said Verma.

The Australian wanted exercise physiologist David John as part of the support staff and it was agreed to rope him in too. “The exercise physiologist will be paid 5,000 Australian dollars a month. He might get some other support staff and HI has agreed to contribute to the expense,” said Verma.

Nobbs will join the ongoing national camp in Bangalore Sunday and will be there for five days before going back home to wind up things.

His appointment comes after Spaniard Jose Brasa’s term ended after the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

Nobbs had served as assistant coach of the Japan women’s team (1993-1999) and then as their chief coach (2007-08). He is also a club coach in Australia and has the experience of working at the grassroots level.

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