Sandeep not in favour of foreign coach

NEW DELHI: Even as the ad-hoc committee for Indian hockey is one step away from naming a foreign coach for the senior national men’s team, newly-a
ppointed captain Sandeep Singh said home-grown coaches were capable enough to revive the game’s lost glory.

After Australian Ric Charlesworth’s resignation last year, the ad-hoc committee had named Harender Singh as the coach-in-charge with Ramandeep Singh and Romeo James as his assistants.

Sandeep said that players want Harender and Co. to continue with their jobs as he thought they were best suited to carry Indian hockey forward.

“In my opinion a foreign coach is not needed. But the ad-hoc committee has got experienced guys who think differently. But as far as the players are concerned, Harender Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Romeo James are doing a good job and they are taking the team forward,” Sandeep said.

Sandeep’s views were echoed by Ramandeep who feels Indian coaches need more exposure to prove their mettle.

“Indian coaches are as good as foreign coaches. They need exposure and they will prove themselves. If foreign coach is being called for then he should be assigned specific purpose,” he said.

The ad-hoc selection committee seemed divided on the foreign coach issue with former India captain and selection panel member Dhanraj Pillay expressing his objection against naming a foreigner as the head coach of the team.

“Greats like Major Dhyan Chand, Mohd. Shahid, Zafar Iqbal and others have never had any training from foreigners, still they achieved big things. No doubt a foreign coach can take us forward and we should take their help, but not at all as a head coach,” the former striker said.

Pillay was of the view that a foreign coach would be handy in improving the fitness level of the players.

“A foreign coach can mix both Asian and European style of hockey and that can help team to do well.”

Spain’s Jose Brasa is tipped as the favourite to be offered the job of senior team’s coach. If Brasa accepts the offer, he would be the third foreigner to coach India.

German Gerard Rach and Charlesworth were the two foreign experts who had been assigned Indian senior team’s reigns.