Leicester City will inspire us: Roelant Oltmans

Bengaluru: As the Indian men’s hockey team toiled hard for the upcoming Champions Trophy to be played in London next month, chief coach Roelant Oltmans is taking inspiration from Leicester City’s Premier League triumph.

Speaking on the sidelines after another hard day at training, the Dutchman said, “The interesting part is that you can't copy anything. But of course it shows that teams who are not the big favourites can still win big events. Of course that will be inspirational to each and every team in sport.”

Apart from keeping an eagle eye on the training sessions at the SAI Southern Centre, Oltmans has been following the Foxes’ EPL run closely.

“It is hard to believe that a team that was almost relegated last year, without too much injection (of cash), can now win the Premier League,” he added.

But the Sardar Singh skippered young side had a dismal run at Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia last month.

“They still can perform at a level they don't know they have in them. They really have a lot of capacity. Before Azlan Shah, we worked hard for a couple of weeks on improvements in our defensive structure. We managed it quite well. It didn't show in the matches against Australia. But overall I'm very pleased,” explained Oltmans.

Along with the selectors and Oltmans, trials were held on Monday to pick the squad for the London event. “We focused on certain tactical aspects of the game. I also explained that to the selectors before the trials were held. If you look at where the boys are now and look at the progress that has been made, it's really tremendous,” Oltmans asserted.

Facing world champions Australia, defending Olympic champs Germany, Great Britain, Belgium and South Korea in forthcoming tournament, team captain Sardar and the boys have worked on new tactics.

"Doing well against each of these teams is important for us as it will show where we stand in the lead-up to the Olympics. It will give us an opportunity to test the latest weapons (tactics) we have been working on in the camp," said Sardar.