HI starts coach hunt

Navneet Singh, Hindustan Times

The exercise to select the Indian successor to Spanish hockey coach, Jose Brasa, will begin in earnest on Saturday when Hockey India (HI) will give the 20-odd aspirants the opportunity to present their “plans” for the national team. HI, after studying their portfolios and presentations, will select the new incumbent at a later date. Chairman of the HI development committee, Pargat Singh, will set the exercise in motion. Speaking to HT on Friday, the former India captain said, “The process to select the head coach is our priority. The sooner we do it the better in the interest of the national squad,” he said.

Among the big names who are expected to stake claim to the top jobs in the men’s and women’s section are former international Dhanraj Pillay and Pritam Siwach. During the spotting exercise, the committee will also discuss names of coaches who would take the junior development programme forward.

“Candidates for all categories will be presenting their programme to HI. Presentation is the first step; selecting the right candidate will be done later,” said a senior HI official.

Pargat said the focus would be to pick coaches from a pool of experts in the country, adding that HI had not short-listed any foreign expert for the job.

“It will take some time,” he said. In the absence of streamlined selection criteria it will be tough job for HI to select the right candidate who can guide the men’s and women’s teams through the difficult continental route to the 2012 London Olympic Games.Former international, Jugraj Singh, who has been assisting the national team in the past, too is a contender for the job.