The day after PR Sreejesh was sacked as coach of the junior team, Hockey India issued an official statement of appointing a foreign coach to oversee junior men’s team.
Hockey India on Thursday announced the appointment of French hockey expert Frederic Soyez as the coach of the Indian junior men’s hockey team. Frederic Soyez replaces India’s former star goalkeeper PR Sreejesh who was sacked Wednesday by the Indian hockey federation.
Surprisingly, the official announcement of appointing a foreign coach for the junior team was made public the day after PR Sreejesh was sacked by the federation.
Frederic Soyez, according to Hockey India statement, has over three decades of elite hockey experience, including 15 years as an international player for France and 15 years as a head coach of France and Spanish teams.
During his tenure with Spain, he guided the team to a silver medal at the 2019 European Championships, while also steering them to quarterfinal finishes at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He was also High-Performance Director of the French Hockey Federation from 2021 to 2024.
As part of this larger vision, the federation has focused on bringing the best coaching and high-performance resources from across the world to further strengthen the country’s hockey ecosystem, Hockey India said in a press release. “Hockey India’s long-term strategy also places significant emphasis on developing Indian coaches alongside international experts,” the press release further stated.
EOM
