Report: Hockey India unlikely to consider Indian coaches; Max Caldas, Aikman among favourites to take charge

The head coach's position is vacant after Graham Reid's resignation.

The Indian men's hockey team are without a head coach following the resignation of former coach Graham Reid after India's exit from the Hockey World Cup at home. Reid quit after the host nation failed to qualify for the quarterfinals of World Cup, which concluded last month in Odisha. Now with just over six months remaining for the Hangzhou Asian Games, Hockey India are in search of a new head coach.

According to a PTI report, Argentine Max Caldas and Dutchman Siegfried Aikman are in the running to replace Reid as head coach of the Indian men's hockey team following the 2023 World Cup catastrophe. The report also mentions that the federation is currently in talks with 2-3 foreign coaches to take over from Reid.

Under the Australian, the Indian men's hockey team finished joint-ninth in the recently concluded Hockey World Cup 2023 at home. The Men in Blue were knocked out from the Crossovers round by New Zealand on penalties after finishing second in their pool. That was India's only defeat in the tournament.

”We expected the team to raise its performance after the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal win but it all went downhill. Reid has done a remarkable job and helped India win an Olympic medal but of late, the performance of the team dipped alarmingly," PTI reported an official as saying. "We are in talks with 2-3 candidates but rest assured we will bring the best who can take India (men's hockey team) to the next level."

The report also mentions that the federation is unlikely to appoint an Indian head coach. "Please tell me who you believe is the best coach in India right now. We will surely consider names if you provide them to us," the official was quoted as saying when asked about the possibility of an Indian coach taking charge of the men's hockey team.

"The Asian Games is scheduled this year and the Paris Olympics is next year. So whoever comes will have to deliver in both events. We want the team to be at its best in both the tournaments," the unnamed official added.

Reid, who took over in April 2019, guided the Indian men's hockey team to a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the country's first Olympics medal in hockey after 41 years. He also led the Men in Blue to a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The World Cup disappointment at home, however, left little choice for the Australian but to resign.