Hockey India has signed Dutch goalkeeping coach Dennis Van de Pol to help with the team’s preparations for the Paris Olympics.
De Pol will join the squad during the ongoing national coaching camp being held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, where he will work with Indian goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak and Suraj Karkera.
The 10-day special goalkeeping camp will be overseen by head coach Craig Fulton and will end on March 26, a week before the team leaves for a tour to Australia.
Dennis has been working with the Indian goalies for nearly four years now with his first stint in 2019.
“This is a very important phase for the Indian men’s team and everything they do in the months leading up to the Olympic Games will be crucial in achieving the desired result in Paris,” Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said.
“We are delighted to engage Dennis who has been closely working with this group of goalkeepers for nearly four years now and understands the minor tweaks needed to lift their performance,”
India qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after winning the gold medal at the Asian Games 2023 held in China.
India will start its Paris campaign against New Zealand on July 27.
Fourth in the FIH rankings, India have been drawn in Pool B for the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s hockey tournament. Reigning Olympic champions Belgium, former Olympic champions Australia and Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland are the other teams in the group.
The Indian women’s hockey team failed to qualify for Paris