India have sacked their national hockey coach Michael Nobbs, who becomes the fourth foreign mentor to be axed in the past decade.
Nobbs, a former Australian international, was appointed Indian coach in June 2011 for a five-year term that would have had him in charge until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Hockey India's secretary-general Narinder Batra said Nobbs failed to improve the team's performance or produce the desired results.
They finished last at the London Olympics, and failed to make the semi-finals of the recent World Hockey League in the Netherlands.
India must win next month's Asia Cup tournament in Malaysia to qualify for next year's World Cup in the Netherlands.
