New Delhi: Hockey India on Tuesday renewed coach Roelant Oltmans' contract till 2020 Olympics.
This development comes after India reclaimed the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia with a satisfying 3-2 win over Pakistan on Sunday.
Regarded as one of the many medal prospects for the country in Rio Olympics 2016, India could only progress to the quarterfinals, where they suffered a 1-3 loss at the hands of Belgium.
"It always takes six to eight years before we will be a consistent medal contender on international global level. This (development) gives us the opportunity to continue this program and make that happen," Oltmans told ANI.
We are now number one in Asia for second time in a row which is fantastic but above us in the world rankings, there are no Asian teams, only European and South American and Australian teams. So, there is a lot of us to chase for," he added.
Speaking about the performance of the Indian team at the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy, Oltmans said he was pleased with the overall performance of the team.
"Winning a tournament is always good. And if you win it the way we did, it means something extra. It's a good start for a new episode for us," he said.
"Many things are on the right track to be honest. For sure, we need these experience players in the upcoming years towards the next Olympics. It is also good to see youngsters stepping up at the moment and it is required," he added.
India had won the inaugural edition of the Asian Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rival in the final in 2011.
Pakistan reversed the result in the title contest the next year and went on to retain the title in 2013 by defeating Japan in the final.
