CHENNAI: Hockey India has moved closer to appointing a chief coach for the men’s team. Apart from pulling the advertisement seeking applications for the position — which has been on the HI website after Harendra Singh was asked to go following a sixth-place finish at the World Cup — there is a belief within the association that a new man will be at the helm before long.
This will come as a relief because the last date for sending applications for the post was initially set for January 31. It was extended twice (February 14 before being pushed back again to February 28). As to the actual identity of who the next man could be, there are one or two familiar names doing the rounds including former coach, Terry Walsh.
But a formal announcement will take some time yet according to a high-ranking HI official. “Not within the next 19 days (on whether there will be a new coach being appointed,” an official told this newspaper. “(...) the advertisement will be taken down today (Thursday),” the official added.
Even if HI are being tight-lipped at the moment, a candidate like Walsh makes sense because of the very Australian set-up within the national team.
The current analytical coach Chris Ciriello as well as David John, high-performance director, will be compatriots and as such the trio will be able to hit the ground running without the need for a traditional settling-in period. That he knows many of the current Indian players including captain Manpreet Singh and custodian PR Sreejesh is an added plus.
Walsh, Malaysian Hockey Federation’s technical director, will also be free once his contract with the MHC comes to an end on March 31. That he knows many of the current Indian players including captain Manpreet Singh and custodian PR Sreejesh is an added plus. The one curious thing to note if the 65-year-old is handed the reigns is that India may have to go to the Sultan Azlan Shah, beginning on March 23, with John overseeing proceedings.
Meanwhile, Jude Felix will continue as junior men’s coach. After Singh declined the invitation made by HI to appoint him as Felix’s replacement, the body has no immediate plans to appoint a successor.