New Delhi, Jul 9 : Sacked Michael Nobbs today said he was not “pushed out” from Indian hockey team chief coach's position, instead he willingly resigned from the job owing to his deteriorating health condition.
Nobbs' contract as the chief coach of the Indian team was terminated yesterday because of non-performance, thus becoming the fourth foreigner to be shown the door before completion of the full tenure.
But the Australian mantained that he quit the job on his own terms and was not shown the door.
“I wasn't pushed out by Hockey India or Sports Authority of India. This (to resign) is my own decision,” Nobbs said.
“I love Indian hockey too much that I don't want to hurt it. But I just couldn't cope any longer with deteriorating health. So, I thought not to coach anymore.
“My health was too difficult for me to continue. I don't want to hurt the system. I don't want to be selfish because it would take at least 6 months to get my health back,” he added.
Nobbs' contract was terminated almost three years before it was to expire. Roelant Oltmans, who is currently the High Performance Manager, has been given charge of the team until a new coach is appointed.
Before Nobbs, Spaniard Jose Brasa, Australian Ric Charlesworth and Germany's Gerhard Rach coached the Indian side before being shown the door due to several issues.
Nobbs said he tried hard to recover his health since the start of the year but it continued to deteriorate with every passing day.
“My health wasn't too good. I had quite a bit of trouble in Holland during the first trip earlier this year. I passed out a few times from January onwards. I had noticed things were getting worse, deteriorating pretty badly,” he told ‘Times Now'.
“I spoke to Roelant Oltmans on the last tour to Hoalland (during last month's FIH World League Round 3 in Rotterdam) and said I wasn't coping well health wise. I am struggling,” Nobbs said.
Even though he did not have the best of results during his two-year tenure as India coach, Nobbs' sounded optimistic about the future of Indian hockey.
“But unfortunately my health was taking a toll on me at the moment,” he said.
