Hockey India appoints France’s Soyez as junior team coach

Hockey India on Thursday announced the appointment of Frederic Soyez as the coach of the Indian junior men's hockey team. The Frenchman will replace former India skipper PR Sreejesh.

Soyez, who represented France from 1995 to 2010 and scored 195 goals, coached Spain at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Games, and led France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sreejesh on Wednesday had criticised the federation for axing him despite doing relatively well in his short stint in coaching. "I have heard about coaches getting fired after bad performances. But this is the first time I am experiencing being removed to make way for a foreign coach," Sreejesh posted on Wednesday.

Soyez is highly regarded in hockey circles in athlete development and penalty corner strategy and for building teams based on tactical structure.

"We warmly welcome Frederic Soyez to the Hockey India family. Frederic comes with outstanding international credentials, having coached at multiple Olympic Games, World Cups, and European Championships, while also successfully developing young talent and high-performance systems. We believe his experience and skill set will greatly benefit Indian hockey as we continue to work towards a bigger long-term vision for the 2036 Olympics," Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said in a statement.

"Our focus is not only on immediate results but also on building a deep talent pool and a coaching structure that remains aligned from sub-junior to senior level. By integrating Indian coaches alongside international experts in every national camp across all levels, we are ensuring continuity in coaching philosophy, player development, and tactical understanding. This collaborative approach will also play a vital role in strengthening the capabilities of Indian coaches and creating a more self-sustaining high-performance ecosystem for the future," he added.