Underfire Indians gets support from Pak coach

Roelant Oltmans said that the current Indian side was better than the Olympic squad and it did not deserve criticism for its performances.

The beleaguered Indian hockey team on Monday got a vote of confidence from Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans who said the current side was much better than the one that played in the Athens Olympics and it does not deserve criticism for its performances.

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Oltmans, considered as one of the best coaches in the world, also said he was not surprised to see striker Gagan Ajit Singh being dropped from the Indian team for the Champions Trophy.

"Don't judge the team by the scoreline or the results. This team has the potential to play as a cohesive unit and emerge as a fine team in future. But just now I can't understand why the team is being criticised so much," said Oltmans, also a former coach of Holland, after a two-hour practice session of his team.

Oltmans, under whom the Dutch won three major titles in the 90s -- the 1996 Olympics, the Champions trophy in the same year and the 1998 World Cup -- said that no one should bother much about the absence of star players like Gagan Ajit or Dhanraj Pillay in the line-up as reputation never helps a team win matches.