CHENNAI/NEW DELHI:As was expected, the nine-member special committee officially put an end to Paul van Ass’ reign as the national coach, after a fortnight-long drama featuring the Dutchman and Hockey India boss Narinder Batra, which precipitated during the World Hockey League Semifinal in Antwerp.
The special committee’s decision was nothing but a mere formality, despite the coach agreeing to return if the HI (read Batra) stopped interfering in matters pertaining to the team. “Before we took the decision we weighed in all the options and it was in the best interest of the team. More than India’s poor performance this year, we were bothered by his unprofessionalism. How can a national coach vanish just like that without even filing the performance-analysis report? This happens no where. We have sent our recommendations to the HI,” stated former captain and coach V Baskaran, who was part of the committee.
Meanwhile, Van Ass threatens to seek legal steps against the HI for defaming him, like his predecessor Terry Walsh. “The HI created a scene and behaved as if I were a liar. They have to officially tell me why I am fired, and what are they going to do next. I can confirm you that there have been no communication from the HI. There have been no calls or emails from their end. I might take legal action, but for that I need some time,” he told Express from Amsterdam.
“I will fight my cause. They still haven’t given a proper reason for sacking me. I got to know their decision two weeks back through Roelant Oltmans and then HI kept on denying that. They should at least be honest. If they had decided to fire me, they should have had the pluck to admit that,” he added.
All the same, members of the committee insist Van Ass hasn’t yet responded to telephone calls or emails. “We tried to contact him, but he didn’t respond to our emails and telephone calls. Under such circumstances, we are left with few other options, though this is not the ideal scenario with just a year for the Rio Olympics,” said former player Harbinder Singh, head of the special panel.
Whoever is at fault, the players, once again, will bear the brunt of the recurring soap opera between the coach and officialdom. The Special Committee, though, has temporarily deputed Oltmans to oversee the team, and it’s likely that he would be in charge till the Olympics. “As of now, it’s just a temporary arrangement. Whether he will be made the official coach or a new coach will be appointed is the HI’s decision. There are formalities on both fronts. To make him the coach, they’ll have to change his contract, agree on his salary, get the Sports Ministry’s approval and so on and so forth. And before all that, we need to know whether Oltmans himself is interested. Meanwhile, appointing a new coach means going through the usual procedures all over again, like shortlisting, interviewing, seeking the ratification of the Ministry and SAI again,” elaborated Baskaran.
But after these worrying precedents, coaches can’t be blamed if they think twice before applying for the vacant post.