THE day after Roelant Oltmans sent his resignation letter to the press, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) named Arul Selvaraj as the new national team chief coach.
Arul, a former international, was supposed to report as an assistant coach on Aug 15 but has now been promoted to chief coach with no date change.
The experienced coach, who guided Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to a treble in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) this year, certainly has what it takes to lead the national team to success.
Arul was assistant to former coach Paul Revington when the national team qualified for the 2014 World Cup in The Hague.
However, five months before the tournament, both men resigned.
Arul also assisted Revington when he was coaching South Africa and Ireland.
However, the position of technical director is still vacant.
It's just waiting for Revington to make an appearance from behind a smoke-screen.
"Arul does not know that he has been promoted as he is still sleeping in Dublin.
"He will arrive soon and after completing the compulsory quarantine period, he will manage the national team.
"We now have a local 'dream team' to coach our players.
"As for Revington, I cannot confirm anything now. We will be holding a coaching committee meeting next week to decide on the technical director's position," said MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal yesterday.
Arul will be assisted by Amin Rahim and Nasihin Nubli.
Oltmans did not waste any time securing a new job as he has taken up a coaching position at Kampong HC in the Netherlands.
The Kampong deal was secured before he sent in his resignation letter to the MHC on July 31.
In a release to the press in the Netherlands, he said: "I am pleased that in this uncertain time, I have been given the opportunity to work at the largest association in the Netherlands.
"It is a team with many top players. We share the ambition to not only achieve results in the short term, but also to look further into how Kampong can remain successful in the longer term.
"I look forward to working with them," said the Dutchman in a statement.
Subahan did not hold it against Oltmans for his 'extra move' on the chessboard.
"To be fair, we have been having discussions for weeks, and he was adamant that there will not be any international tournaments for this year as Covid-19 is making a comeback in many countries.
"He was also sure that the Asian Champions Trophy in Bangladesh in November will not be held.
"For me, it is up to the Asian Hockey Federation to make this stand, but Oltmans was sure and that's one reason he wanted out.
"We are not angry that he has found a job in the Netherlands. It does not affect us much.
"But if he had found a new job, for instance in India, Pakistan, Japan or South Korea, then it would have been a conflict of interest.
"His contract had a clause which allowed both parties (Oltmans and MHC) to call it a day by giving a one-month notice, and he did just that.
"He has paid the one-month due on salary, and he is free to go back home," he said.
Oltmans cited Covid-19 and being away from his family during this uncertain period as the main reasons.
On Arul and his local coaches, Subahan said they will have a free hand to select their players.
"The coaching set-up will have a free hand to select their players without fear or favour.
"They are answerable to the coaching committee, so they must get the best for the country," said Subahan, adding that those who were dropped by Oltmans will also get a fair chance to make a comeback.