Harendra Singh tipped to be hockey coach
By Mihir Vasavda | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Former coach of the men’s hockey team, Harendra Singh is set to be appointed as the chief coach after the Supreme Court, on Friday, cleared the decks for Hockey India (HI) to send the team for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Malaysia in May.
A formal announcement of this decision will soon be made by HI, once the Sports Authority of India (SAI) confirms the appointment. It is also learnt that CR Kumar has been appointed as the chief coach of the women’s team.
The men’s and women’s team were without a coach since the Asian Games ended in November last year. Men’s chief coach Jose Brasa’s contract wasn’t renewed by HI and Harendra had resigned from the post.
Though HI’s development committee, led by former captain Pargat Singh, recommended a foreign coach for the top job, the national body went against it, saying it would have further delayed the process.
HI, however, refused to confirm the development. “We can comment only after SAI gives the appointment letters. But the camps will begin in Delhi from March 15. So you can expect a confirmation before that,” HI secretary general Narendra Batra said.
Though, Harendra wasn’t a unanimous choice of the committee, sources said HI decided to go ahead with him because of the ‘experience in handling the national team and technical know-how’ of the Air India employee.
Kumar, meanwhile, will take over the reigns of the women’s team from Sandeep Somesh, under whom the team had a below-par performance. Sanggai Chanu and Sumrai Tete are set to be his deputies.