Pak approach former India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans

Roelant Oltmans, the former head coach of Indian men's hockey team, has been approached by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to join as their coach ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

In a telephonic conversation with ANI, Dutch coach Oltmans confirmed that he has been approached by the PHF to once again take charge of their national hockey team.

Oltmans, who had previously served as Pakistan coach in 2003-2004, further informed that he has not taken any decision on the proposal so far and that he would come to a conclusion in the next couple of days.

Initially, the 63-year-old coach was appointed High-Performance Director by Hockey India in 2013 before he took over as the national team's head coach following the dismissal of another Dutchman, Paul Van Ass, in 2015.

However, Oltmans' tenure as Indian hockey team head coach came to an end when he was sacked following a three-day meeting of the Hockey India High Performance and Development Committee last September.

It was learnt that while Oltmans role as chief coach in improving the teams' overall fitness and cohesiveness was appreciated, the results are what matter and the performance of the team have not been consistent or up to the desired levels.

The news came in the wake of a series of poor results by Pakistan last year, when they barely managed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals, which is due to be held in India in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha from November 28 to December 16 at the Kalinga Stadium

Pakistan, who have been the most successful team in the tournament history, having won four times - 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994, became the 13th side to qualify for the World Cup after making a seventh-place finish at the Hockey World League Semi-Finals in London.