Ad-hocism in Indian hockey as Harendra takes charge

New Delhi, September 26 The IOA ad-hoc committee named Harendra Singh as “coach in-charge” of men’s hockey, a decision that raises more questions than answers.

A controversial pick for the top job, Harendra’s track record with the national team is dismal. He was the assistant coach during the Sydney Olympics, the 2006 World Cup and the 2006 Asian Games — India fared miserably in all three tournaments, finishing outside the top four for the first time at the continental games. The only time he led a senior team as the chief coach was in the 2004 Azlan Shah Cup, where India ended up last for the first and only time.

Under his guidance, India did finish fourth at the 2005 Junior World Cup, but then, they came into the competition as the defending champions. “We had to name someone to take charge till we get a national coach,” said chairman of selection committee Ajitpal Singh. But if the idea was to name a stop-gap arrangement, why not get someone like Rajinder Singh senior, who has perhaps the best track record as coach in recent times?

Interestingly, the five-member selection panel included Dhanraj Pillay who still plays for Indian Airlines, of which Harendra is the coach. “Personal relations are different from professional commitments,” said a selector, defending Dhanraj’s presence on the panel.

Besides Dhanraj, two more selectors come from Indian Airlines. “This is not a national selection panel; it’s a Delhi selection panel. Every person with any authority in the panel or the ad-hoc committee is from Delhi. This ad-hoc committee is no better than the KPS Gill regime,” claimed former coach Vasudevan Baskaran. “Why this sidelining of every other region?” he asked. The authorities have no answer, except a reiteration of the fact that all those involved are former Olympians. What’s most interesting is that while Harendra’s appointment remains a stop-gap arrangement, the ad-hoc committee itself is not clear on what would be the final set-up of the national team.

There is talk of getting a foreign coach in consultation with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), but the selection committee insists that he will not be the national coach. “A foreign coach is a foreign coach, he cannot be the national coach, we are also looking for a national coach,” Ajitpal said. At the same time, he insisted that Harendra would be “in-charge till the Asian Games 2010”. So what would be his role?…