Complete List of Indian Hockey Coaches Through the Years

Among the other sports that are played worldwide, field hockey, also known as ‘hockey,’ is one of the sports that is loved and played by many. Hockey can be traced back to the early civilizations of Ancient Greece and Egypt, where drawings on the wall can be seen of people playing with a ball and a stick.

Over the years, the Indian Hockey Team has had some of the best players in the world, along with masterminds behind the team who have provided equal contributions as players. In this article, we will cover some Indian hockey coaches’ lists over the years.

1950s – 1980s: The Golden Era Coaches

Indian hockey has a great history, and it has always been able to produce magnificent talent.

The passion for hockey among Indians started in the early 20th century when the nation participated in the Olympic games for the first time in 1928. The golden era of Indian hockey teams began in the 1950s when the team was successful in winning multiple Olympic games.

Notable names like Balbir Singh Sr. and Kaushik Dutt were coaching the Indian Hockey team during the period of 1950s-1980s. Here is the Indian Hockey Coaches list from the golden era:

Coach Name	Year	Role	Achievements
Balbir Singh Sr.	1975	Chief Coach	He was a legendary player who ended his career winning three Olympic gold medals and led India to victory in the 1975 Hockey World Cup.
Kaushik Dutt	1956	Coach	During his tenure, India won a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, winning all matches without conceding a goal.
Haripal Kaushik	1968	Coach	The former Olympic gold medalist coached India, who won a bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
KD Singh “Babu”	1952	Coach	A player known for his dribbling skills, he led India to a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Gurbux Singh	1978	Coach	Helped India to win the silver medal in the 1978 Asian Games.
MP Ganesh	1980	Coach	The former India captain coached India to gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, India’s last Olympic hockey gold.
Marcellus Gomes	1986	Coach	Coached the Indian Hockey Team at the 1986 World Cup and later became a notable figure in hockey development in India.

Transition Period (1990s–2000s)

During the 1990s-2000s, the dynamics of hockey changed drastically, which led to the downfall of the Indian hockey team.

Matches were now being played on astroturf, artificial grass instead of natural, which Indians hockey players had a hard time adapting to, hence falling behind in global sports. A new challenge for all the Indian players in the decades they played and perfected their global stance, more so for young players who were still playing natural grass.

With this, the introduction of foreign coaches began in Indian hockey; they had a responsibility to lead the Indian team and the new dynamics of the game.

Here is the Indian Hockey Coaches list from the period of 1990 to 2000:

Coach Name	Year	Role	Achievements
Gerald Viner	1990-1994	Coach	He was not the first foreign coach of India, but he made a massive contribution to the fitness and tactical discipline of the team. Under his coaching, India ended the 1994 World Cup in 4th position.
Hans Jörg Döll	1995-1998	Coach	Hans followed the German strategy and emphasized defense and counter attacking. He was successful in leading the team in major tournaments but struggled against top teams.
Reinhold Beckmann	1998-2000	Coach	During his period, India did not win major tournaments, but he made sure that the team was focused on fitness and recovery and began laying the foundation for professionalism.
Rajinder Singh	2000-2001	Coach	He combined the Indian’s traditional attacking style with European but ended his tenure as disappointing at the major tournaments.

Modern-Day Coaches (2010–Present)

The Indian Hockey Team faced massive losses and disappointment during the 1990s when they were not able to win any of the major tournaments.

The frequent changes of coaches led the team to miss the synchronization that they had built over the years while juggling the shift in hockey.

It was the time when the Indian hockey team needed a new coach as all the teams were becoming more competitive day by day.

That was a good, rather sensible way to go at the time, but the sport lacked funding and, hence, it was unable to create any spark amongst the players and viewers. An incentive, you might say, to aspire for the win.

The modern-day coaches helped the team to reach qualification and win bronze and silver medals; the team had yet to make a jaw-dropping comeback.

Here is a list of the Indian Hockey Coaches who have led India from the year 2009 till now:

Coach Name	Year	Role	Achievements
Jose Brasa	2009–2010	Coach	Jose Brasa coached the Indian team after they failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. But during his tenure, India won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games.
Michael Nobbs	2011–2013	Coach	Michael Nobbs led India to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, but the Indian team finished last in the tournament, leading to his sacking despite having a five-year contract.
Terry Walsh	2013–2014	Coach	During his tenure, India won a gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Paul van Ass	2015–2015	Coach	His tenure lasted only five months due to disputes with Hockey India’s president, Narinder Batra, over poor team management.
Roelant Oltmans	2015–2017	Coach	He led India to secure a bronze medal at the 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and worked towards long-term performance of the team.
Sjoerd Marijne	2017–2018	Coach	During his period, he helped India to an undefeated Asia Cup campaign and a successful series against New Zealand.
Harendra Singh	2018–2019	Coach	India performed exceptionally during his leadership, as India ended up winning the 2008 Asian Cup.
Graham Reid	2019–Present	Coach	With the leadership under the Australian coach in 2019, India won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a silver at the 2021 FIH Hockey Pro League. He is the current coach of the Indian Hockey team.