Paul van Ass rude, making me a villain: Narinder Batra

NEW DELHI: Hockey India chief Narinder Batra, who had so far refrained from revealing details of the unsavoury episode that led to the current crisis involving the national team’s chief coach Paul van Ass, opened up to TOI on Tuesday and said that the coach was “very rude” to him.

Van Ass, who took charge of the team only four months back, had alleged on Monday that he had been “fired” by Hockey India probably because he had asked Batra to leave the hockey pitch when the administrator was addressing the players after the match against Malaysia. “I felt the need to protect my players. So I told Mr Batra not to address the players and let me do it. He got angry…everything is very emotional in Hockey India.”

Narrating his version, Batra admitted that the altercation with van Ass happened after India’s match against Malaysia during the World Hockey League Semifinals in Antwerp on July 1.

“India fought hard to beat Malaysia 3-2 that night and just 10 minutes after the match, a member of the organizing committee told me that the team management wanted me to meet the players. I did not barge in, I’m aware of the protocol,” he said.

“I went in and congratulated the coaches for the win and we all formed a circle. Then I told van Ass that I wanted to speak to the players, and that I would speak in Hindi. I told the players that they would have to be much more consistent to be ready for the Rio Olympics. I told them that we beat Australia during the Test series and lost by a huge margin in Antwerp, which was sending wrong signals. I also told them that we have been beating Pakistan regularly over the years and I was disappointed with the draw.

“I added that winning was the most important thing as it would send the right signals to the sponsors too… they are very important for the health of the game. I had barely spoken for a minute and suddenly the coach told me to leave. I asked him ‘What did you say Paul?’ and he said, ‘Either you leave or I leave’. It was very rude, offensive. I simply said that we would talk about it later and walked away.”

Batra added that the coach was making him “a villain” now and that was surprising. “I have been made a villain but we have not ended his contract. That will be discussed in the meeting of the special committee on July 24. I am not part of the committee which will be chaired by Olympian Harbinder Singh. If they feel that van Ass should be retained, I will personally go to The Netherlands to bring him back,” he said.

When asked what options Hockey India has in case van Ass is asked to finally leave, and would HI consider making high performance director Roelant Oltmans the coach, Batra said: “The players like Oltmans, who has tremendous experience. But let us wait for the meeting.”

Batra also responded when asked about his “Van Ass is not a good coach” remark, which he reportedly made on Monday. “He is a good manager-coach but tactically he is not so strong. But there are other issues. The coach should give a report after every match, which he did not. And he was lying when he said that air tickets were not sent to him. Actually, I feel he himself wants to get out.”

The above comments do give a sense that we have seen the last of Paul van Ass as Indian team’s chief coach. The final decision will of course be taken after HI’s special committee’s report is discussed with SAI, most likely on coming Monday.