SAI committee meets sports minister regarding Walsh’s proposal

PTI

NEW DELHI: The six-member committee, constituted by Sports Authority of India (SAI) to study the proposals of Indian hockey coach Terry Walsh, met the sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday.

In a major setback for Indian hockey, the men’s national team chief coach Terry Walsh officially quit from his post after his contractual talks with Hockey India and the SAI broke down but a fresh proposal is still being worked out for the Australian’s consideration.

“Mr Terry Walsh had a meeting with the honourable sports minister today along with the committee at 14:30 hours. The minister applauded Mr Terry Walsh’s recent performance and believed that Mr Walsh is the right man to take Indian hockey forward,” said Setia in a statement.

“The committee comprising of former Indian hockey players Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal, High Performance Director Rolant Oltmans, SAI’s Executive Director (Teams) Sudhir Setia and Hockey India CEO Elena Norman decided to meet the sports minister after two days of meeting.

“The minister patiently listened to Mr Walsh’s proposals and have agreed to all of them in principles and have asked the committee to find more details. However, Mr. Walsh stated that he needs few days off to go back to Australia. He will then have a re look at all the proposals offered in a positive manner towards renewal of his contract.” Setia said.

Walsh, whose contract was to come to an end on Wednesday, had already submitted his resignation last month after his demands for a greater say in team decisions and hand-picked support staff were turned down by HI and Sports Authority of India.