Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Hockey India on Monday appointed Australia’s Graham Reid as the new chief coach of the senior men’s hockey team. India had 
been without a head coach ever since Harendra Singh was sacked after the men’s team loss in the Hockey World Cup.
The 54-year-old coach will join the team in Bengaluru shortly for the on-going National Camp at Sports Authority of India
Commenting on the appointment of the new coach, Hockey India president Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmed said “Graham Reid is backed by a successful career as a player and also comes with strong coaching experience, having worked with the Australian and the Netherlands national teams. We are hopeful his experience and expertise will help the Indian Men’s Hockey Team achieve desirable results leading up to and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,”
Reid will be in charge of the team during their next international assignment — tour to Australia in May.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to be appointed as Chief Coach of the Indian Men’s hockey team. No other country has a history in this sport that can compare to India “ Reid said after his appointment..
As an opposition coach, I have enjoyed watching first hand, the steady rise of the Indian team 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’, he added
He was also part of the Australian squad that won back-to-back Champions Trophy titles in 1984, 1985 and 1989, 1990. He also was a member of the silver medal winning team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
With 130 international caps, Reid took to coaching a national team when he was appointed an assistant coach in 2009 for Australia. During his tenure, he was elevated to the head coach position and he guided the Australian team to their fifth consecutive Champions Trophy title in 2012.
He was named head coach in 2014 where he contributed to Australian squad’s reign as world No.1 team.
Under his guidance, they won the World League Semi Final in Antwerp and went on to win the World League Final in Raipur the same year.
In his recent stint, he worked as the Assistant Coach for the Netherlands team which finished runners up at the 2018 World Cup.