Graham Reid Appointed As New Coach For Men's Hockey Team

The men's hockey team of India was without a coach for 4 months and now that period has come to an end as Graham Reid has taken over the reins of the Indian team. The 54-year-old Reid is likely to join the team midway through its national camp in Bengaluru, which commenced on Monday.

Reid's name was doing the rounds for quite a while now and the final clearance was given when it was forwarded to the sports ministry by HI and Sports Authority Of India. There had been reports of differences over his salary but the federation has now ended all speculation. Unlike previous coaches, he would be moving base to Bengaluru with his family.

Reid was with the Australian team before, as a coach and under him Australia won the 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2015 World League and 2016 Champions Trophy. He earlier assited Charlesworth, who was Australian coach before Reid. When Charlesworth stepped down in 2014, he was handed over the reins as a coach. Reid stepped down Australia's coach after a fourth-placed finish at the 2016 Olympics. Reid also served as an assistant coach for Netherlands, which finished as runner-ups at the World Cup last year. Reid was part of the Australian team which won silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and Champions Trophy titles in 1984, 1989 and 1990.

“Graham Reid is backed by a successful career as a player and also comes with a strong coaching experience, having worked with the Australian and the Netherlands national teams. We are hopeful his experience and expertise will help the Indian team achieve desirable results leading up to and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” HI president Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad said.

It’s an honour to be appointed as chief coach of the Indian team. As an opposition coach I have enjoyed watching the steady rise to one of the most exciting and threatening teams in world hockey. I have a passion for the fast and attacking brand of hockey that India plays which marries closely with the Australian style,” Reid said.

Graham's first big assignment will be India's tour of Australia, followed by the FIH Men's Series final in Bhubaneswar in June.