New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Australian Terry Walsh Tuesday was appointed the chief coach of Indian men's hockey team as a replacement to his compatriot Michael Nobbs, who was sacked after a string of poor results.

The reputed Australian, a silver medallist in the 1976 Montreal Games, comes with a vast experience of coaching and has also represented Australia in three Olympics.

High-performance manager Roelant Oltmans was doubling up as the acting coach after Nobbs was sacked in July.

Hockey India (HI) secretary general Narinder Batra said that the appointment of Walsh is an important step to ensure an appropriate programme is in place for the senior men's team. 

"2014 is an important year for Indian Hockey. The season which commences with World League Round 4 at Delhi and terminates with Champions Trophy in India. In between, the team will be participating in three very important and prestigious events, i.e FIH Men’s World Cup, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games," said Batra.

“Terence will provide the adequate guidance and motivation to the team. He not only has the experience but also has a vision to develop senior men's hockey team as a well-knit professional unit,” Batra added.

Walsh is also excited to work with eight-time Olympic champions India.

“The opportunity to head the Indian coaching team is extremely humbling. Coaching India must be regarded as the greatest challenge in the hockey world. The world's richest history in our sport combined with the great passion of Indian hockey sets an incredible platform for excitement, but also expectations in this country," said Walsh. 

“I look forward to working with the players, the coaching staff, Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in ensuring no stone is left unturned with India's quest to return to the performance pinnacle of world hockey,” said Walsh.

Prior to taking up the job of coaching India, Walsh has worked as Technical Director with USA Field Hockey 2005-2012.

The Australian started his coaching career in 1990 when he worked as head coach of the Malaysian national hockey team till 1994. He worked as head coach of the Australian national team from 1997-2000 and under his coaching the team won Commonwealth Games (1998), Champions Trophy (1999) and a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympic Games (2000). 

In 2004, Walsh was head coach of the Netherlands hockey team that won silver medal at the Athens Olympic Games. Walsh is an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Master Coach. 

As a player, Walsh has 175 international caps and has represented Australia in four World Cup campaigns and three Olympic Games, including a silver medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.