Just months after being removed from the post of coach with the senior men’s hockey team, Harendra Singh has been quietly brought back in to the system as the coach of the junior team.

Harendra was shown the door after just one tournament in charge when India, without several senior players, finished sixth among seven teams at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May.

Interestingly, Hockey India has downplayed the development claiming that the appointment is part of a plan that was already in place.

There is already a development team in the books of the federation with Olympian Mukesh Kumar as its designated coach.

Hockey India says both squads have different personnel and have been put together for different reasons.

“The chain of command has been there for some time. There is no scope for any confusion.

Mukesh is the coach of the development team while Harendra will be in charge of the juniors,” Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra told MAIL TODAY on Monday.

He said the two teams are in place for different purposes.

“The juniors are players under 21 years of age. However, there are several good players above that age who may not be ready to be in the reckoning for the senior side. We want to keep them in the system and that’s why we have formed the development side,” Batra said.

“In the coming months, while the senior team will be taking on top teams like Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, the development squad will face secondstring sides like Japan, China and Malaysia.”

The development has not gone down well with Mukesh, who was earlier marked as the coach of the junior team. He was at the recent trials in Jalandhar, where 48 players were shortlisted for the camp in Bangalore.

The Olympian was miffed when he learnt that Harendra had been made coach of the junior side and left the camp in a huff.

Batra admitted that Mukesh needs to be placated. “He is an experienced player and we value his expertise. We will talk to him soon and sort out the confusion,” he said.

However, Batra stressed that there was no way Harendra could come back into the coaching staff for the senior side.

“Michael Nobbs is the chief coach of the senior side with Mohammad Riaz as his assistant. The Australian is happy with his inputs and we don’t envisage any change,” Batra added.

The next assignment for the under- 18 squad is an international tournament early next month in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

No venue for nationals

The men’s and women’s junior nationals are scheduled to be held next month, but there is no decision yet about the venue of the event.

Jharkhand was to host both the tournaments, but later expressed its inability to do so.

“Now we are looking for some other venue that can hold the event in October or early November,” Batra said.

“We are talking to three or four state units but no final decision has been reached yet.” The under- 18 nationals are significant as stepping stones to the squad for the men’s and women’s Junior World Cups to be held in India in 2013.

The 48 players shortlisted for the tournament in Johor Bahru will be further pruned on the basis of performance at the nationals.

“We have already given our longterm programme to the government for approval,” Batra said.

Core of junior girls’ squad in place

The team that won the bronze medal at the Girls’ Under-18 Asia Cup in Bangkok will form the core of the Indian squad at the 2013 Junior World Cup.

“We still need to have a look at the junior nationals. We will have open trials and will see a few more players there,” Batra said.

Apart from age verification, the players’ overall fitness and performance will be assessed, he added.