New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): Hockey India on Tuesday announced the appointment of Herman Kruis as the new High Performance Director. He will assume the role till September 2024, overseeing the National Junior and Senior programs of Hockey India, including the Coaches Education Pathway among other tasks.

Kruis, who is from the Netherlands, has over two decades of coaching experience, and was earlier appointed as coach of Indian men and junior women’s teams to oversee their preparations for the coveted FIH Junior World Cups (men and Women).

In his vast coaching experience, Kruis has worked with Den Bosch ladies – a club based out of the Netherlands – as their Head Coach and during his tenure the team won the European Cup eight times in a row. He was also the National Head Coach for the Netherlands Indoor Women’s Hockey Team from 2006 to 2008 and he was also the National Head Coach for the Netherlands Outdoor team from 2008 to 2010.

In his most recent stint, he was the national head coach of the Belarus indoor and outdoor team from 2016 to August 2023. Kruis is a certified FIH Coach-Educator.

"Hockey India is delighted to appoint senior Coach Herman Kruis as the High Performance Director of Hockey India. He will oversee the various programs run by Hockey India including the Junior and Senior programs. I wish Herman the very best as he assumes this new role,” expressed Hockey India President Dr Dilip Tirkey.

Expressing his delight on being appointed as the High-Performance Director, Kruis said, "I am looking forward to this new stint with Hockey India. The Indian teams are on the cusp of creating history and I look forward to utilizing my expertise in helping the teams and Hockey India in achieving their goals for this year."