Harendra dumps junior team, Mukesh takes charge

Indian hockey national junior team chief coach Harendra Singh on Monday relinquished his post, quitting the probables camp underway at the Sports Authority of India campus here.

The sudden development comes after the former senior national coach was named last week by the Indian Hockey Federation as one of the coaches for its inaugural World Series Hockey. Told by Hockey India — who are loggerheads with IHF — to chose between WSH and coaching India, the former international decided to give up national duties for the private series.

“Yes, Harendra has quit the camp and has given up his job as the chief coach of the junior national team,” said HI selector AB Subbaiah. “After WSH named him as one of the coaches, HI told him clearly he can only have one job. He chose to stick with WSH and left the camp on Monday evening. Mukesh Kumar will act as the coach of the junior team.”

Harendra’s appointment as the chief coach of the junior team had been mired in controversy right from the beginning. HI had initially named Mukesh as the junior team’s head coach.

Hours after arriving at SAI?under the impression that he was the chief coach, three-time Olympian Mukesh was left red-faced when HI named Harendra as the chief coach and demoted Mukesh to the rank of his assistant. Completely embarrassed, the dynamic right-winger quit the camp right away, vowing never to return. However, HI made up for their mistake, named Mukesh as assistant to senior coach Michael Nobbs.

With Harendra leaving, Nobbs will devise the training methods for the junior team that will be overseen by Mukesh.