Whoever made the statement that I have withdrawn my resignation should retract it: Terry Walsh

Going by reports, you had a fruitful meeting with Sports Authority of India (SAI) officials. Have they agreed to your demand of functional autonomy?
Yes, that's one of the pieces of the puzzle. And yes, it was a good and a receptive discussion. These comments are not new; it's just that, all of a sudden, they've become a seed. I get disappointed when I hear that these sorts of things haven't been brought to the table before because they indeed have for a few times.

Could you throw light on what kind of functional autonomy you're asking for?
I think it's important that the budget and supply by the government is directly accessible to the high-performance group of Hockey India (HI). In the structure that we currently have, high-performance director Roelant (Oltmans) should be the one overseeing that budget. So that, I guess, is what they call functional autonomy. If you have to get things done without red-tapism, you have to go through the system on the way up and then on the way down. Some of these things take a short period of time and some seem to take an infinite amount of time. This way, it allows the time to be in the hands of the programme. And I think that's very important, whether it be an air ticket or a piece of training equipment that's needed. Because in the high-performance programme, you try and quantify exactly what's happening throughout the year, and it's impossible to do that now. To give great credit, I think SAI tried to be as flexible as they possible could within the parameters that they work in. The problem is it is not instantaneous flexibility. And that's what you need.

HI was quick to put the blame on SAI and vice-versa. Is the constant disagreement between the two bodies also part of your problems?
I don't think they are at loggerheads. I think that impression is being created due to what I referred to as the bureaucracy, the decision-making behaviours in the bureaucracy. It just takes forever. And they happen to be the bodies that are involved. For us, it's HI and then it goes to SAI and then comes back again to HI. That's how it goes. I don't think anyone is deliberately obstructing, it's just the processes that are in place. I think what we're trying to do is streamline that, and make it easily accessible, give accountability and access to the people who are employed to do so.

And were you promised that?
Well, that's something that's in the programme and in the discussion point. But as is the case always, discussion points and implementations in these things are not necessarily one and the same. The indication was that the concepts are very much in sync with what they have on their mind, and so it would seem that we could move in that direction relatively quickly. I don't know how quickly, but you can't see that being done before the start of the next financial operating year, which is March-April. You're not going to change until that point. But all the pieces need to be in place so that they can actually happen.

So if all the issues mentioned (see boxes) are resolved and is reflected in your renewed contract, you will stay on, right?
Just to be clear, my contract runs through until August 2016. I resigned. That means that there is a one-month notice period, which is till November 19. Now it doesn't matter what anybody wants or thinks, but that's the situation as of now. They've asked me to retract it, and said all these things will be fixed. I said no. Because fixing these issues aren't just the solution to where I'm at. I've got the problem of being away, even though they're saying you can be home for a much longer time and work from Australia. It still doesn't necessarily solve the problem. I've still got to be away for a long time to have that work. Now, I haven't had a chance to sit down with my wife and family and discuss this option that's been put up. And I think it's rather frivolous of people to think that it can be done overnight. That instantaneous gratification in everything is a part of this culture. It doesn't matter if you're successful with a gold medal or you fail to win one game — everything breaks loose. It's instantaneous. And everyone is trying to find a solution politically. I'm not interested in a political solution. I'm interested in an operable solution that factually works and increases the probability of the team improving. That's where I'm coming from.

But there were statements made on Wednesday that you have withdrawn your resignation and that all is well...
That's completely false. Whoever made that statement should retract it. And I'm sorry, but if it was the DG SAI (director-general Jiji Thomson) — I don't read the press much honestly — they need to retract it. Because I'm telling you if I read that it has come from certain people in high positions, all that will do is push me away. Because that means they're not telling the truth.

This paper spoke to Thomson on Wednesday. He said you will be given personal autonomy...
No, he's given you a political answer. (Pauses) The reality is this: I was asked to withdraw my resignation by both HI and SAI. And I refused. Because I know that it doesn't solve the problem. It solves their problem. It doesn't solve my problem. And I've been trying to solve their problems for 12 months.

So will that meeting with HI and SAI in November be a make-or-break one?
Look, somewhere around November 10 or 12, there has to be a discussion if this topic has to change its direction. But there has to be a solution before November 19. So, logically, one meeting is not going to solve this. This is going to be a discussion that provides a solution and that people are going to decide which is the best direction to take. There's no guarantee at all that just because the requests for the improvement of programming has been put in place, that I'm going to say 'Oh, I'm going to stay'. That's not true.

Your decision to resign shocked many. Was it a spontaneous decision?
It's been a cumulative build-up in frustration of how the system works. Finally, we managed to reach the target that we set (Asian Games gold). I think a person would've been beyond being brave if he had predicted an Asian Games gold at the start of the year. We wouldn't have won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. That, in my view, is an even bigger feat. But processes take time to evolve. In the modern world of sport, you can get a result for the moment. But for sustained excellence, the preparation has to be very good for a long period of time. People immediately said that we won a gold at Asian Games and that means, by some incredible imaginative co-relation, we can win a medal at the 2016 Olympics (laughs). That's not the case. There's a huge amount of improvement to be done, and my view is that if you stay in exactly the same environment — management and administrative-wise — that will not occur. So I'm not looking at today, I'm looking at 2016, 2020, 2024.

I spoke to the guys this morning and we tried to keep everyone updated about what's going on with the truth, and they said 'look, we're now with a focus towards 2016 Olympics'. That's where the focus is. There will be ups and downs on the way, but once we hit into 2016, we'll be looking at 2018. Now that's almost unknown here. And that's what I mean by sports administration. Sport in India can travel up the flag pole if you do at least a little of what the other countries are doing. Otherwise you'll be further down that what you were this year. You have to, at least, match what they're doing on the organisational and strategical front. Unfortunately, India is the only place I know that operates in a different way. Good countries trust and give autonomy to people who are heading the programmes.

A lot of people in the hockey fraternity have questioned the timing of your resignation. 'Didn't he know how things work in India?' is what they're saying?
Because if it's not fixed, India will fall into complete obscurity in the sporting world. Specifically talking about hockey, as a hockey lover, I would be very sad to see that happen.

So are you hopeful that things will change now?
Look, this is going to be an obscure answer because I've raised these issues at least six times since I've been here. The difference now is that someone's listening. I don't know whether I've been talking the wrong language at the wrong time or that people are affected so significantly by success. I sense the latter.

Finally, the team seems to be happy working under you. The fans have some hope. Can we expect you to continue in your role if all your issues are promised to be dealt with?
It's very humbling for me that people think that I have some sort of a magic wand. I don't. This programme can exist very well as long as it functions with good processes. And it doesn't matter who's in and who's not. If the processes are right, you've got a very good chance of success. But if they're not and it's hit and miss, that's exactly what will happen. It will be hit and miss. I'll give you an example. When the decision came after the World Cup (In June, where India finished ninth) that we're going to jump up in the air and have a review, remember that? It comes under that banner of sports administration. Tell me where the review is after the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Because that's equally important. So what you're talking about is a mentality. You've not talking about the process. Because if the process was that we're going to have a review after every tournament, not a knee-jerk reaction that 'heck, the water is breaking through the wall, let's have a review'. That's the problem as I see it. It's not just with the review system. People talk to me about administrative problems all the time. Where's that review? Why doesn't that happen? The answer is that there's no process in place for that.

WALSH & IRON

On pay
Look, we haven't even talked about things like finance. No one's mentioned anything to do with that. It amazes me (laughs). I'm really pleased that they are focusing on things that are important for the programming. So I haven't even brought that subject up (of finance). But there's a reality to all of this. Quite frankly, the last 12 months have been really difficult. Not just a little bit hard, but incredibly hard. That's part of the deal. It's not a matter of you're being paid relatively handsomely in this environment, and I can tell you that it's nowhere close to where I was before. But that's not the reason I'm here. Given that I've been able to show, quite frankly, that I can do the job in this environment, then probably there's something that needs to be thought about in that side of things. But that's not my role. If I have to go pleading, then I'm really not comfortable about that.

On tax
The tax is not an issue, because it's under control with SAI. I think the methodology that's being utilised, it again falls back to these issues. If it's not being paid at the right time in the right moment, there are problems in that. You have to be clear and concise. You can't make mistakes with international people. It just doesn't work. Have there been some issues there? I think so. Have I personally been subject to that issue? Not that I know of. I need to go online, and see if I can drag off all my paid tax. It's certainly being indicated, but I haven't got to the stage yet of paying the tax for the year. But I will be in the next few weeks.

On leave
Leave is a personal thing. It has nothing to do with the programme. People who work in my field can work remotely. There are so many professions in the world where remote operations exist. When there's a national camp on, I don't have an issue with that. If you want to take leave from that, you do it by going through the formal leave process. But if you have a situation where you've got a two-three week hiatus in the programme — and you have to have these for the revitalisation of the players — there's no point in sitting in a hotel in Delhi when I can be sitting doing the same thing in Perth. Yes, there's the air fare there but it saves you costs. There's no communication problems because with modern-day technology, there's no difference in whether I'm in Delhi or New York. All you have to do is update the operational status of the organisation.

On selection
Selection is not a problem. I think the process is, but I don't think that there's any collusion. In the men's programme, at least, I can categorically say that it doesn't exist.