It's back to square one.
Indian hockey coach Terry Walsh, on Tuesday, decided to quit from his post after talks with Hockey India (HI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) regarding his contract and changes in the system failed to reach a conclusion. Walsh's contract was set to expire on Wednesday.
There's still a ray of hope, though, with a fresh proposal being worked out for the Australian's consideration that is expected to be notified to him in a couple of days. Walsh will fly back to Perth on Wednesday and will only give his final decision after a few days.
Walsh announced his decision after meeting Sonowal on Tuesday morning. That was the one last chance for both parties to reach a compromise, but it ended inconclusively.
"Walsh had a meeting with the sports minister today (Tuesday) along with the committee. The minister applauded Walsh's recent performance and believed that he's the right man to take Indian hockey forward," SAI executive director (Teams) Sudhir Setia said.
Walsh, on his part, said on Tuesday that he was excited by SAI and government's desire to make changes, but refused to mention HI. "I have been really excited by the SAI and government's desire to review and possibly implement small changes to enhance hockey in India," Walsh told reporters in New Delhi.
"Their support in this process has been extremely positive and shows a clear desire to take hockey forward in this country. Change is never easy but without it, progress cannot be made," he said.
"But as of last (Monday) evening, I closed my role with the national programme. But I have just discussed a new proposal and I hope to receive that in the next 24 to 48 hours," the two-time Olympian added.
Walsh's departure means the team will be left without a coach in their ongoing national camp in New Delhi for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Asked if a replacement for Walsh was being discussed, HI CEO Elena Norman said they were still hoping that the Australia would come back after studying the new proposal.
Walsh also chose to remain optimistic. "I'm still hoping for a resolution to this situation in the very near future. My case has been discussed today (Tuesday) and I need a few days to gather my thoughts," he added.
Walsh had resigned last month citing greater say for the high-performance group in the decision-making processes. The 60-year-old also wanted some hand-picked support staff besides wanting to work from home for a period of 120 days.
Walsh's resignation resulted in an intense war of words between the three parties. While SAI director-general Jiji Thomson made it clear that an exception cannot be made just for Walsh in terms of working from home, HI president Narinder Batra slammed the Australian, saying "he is blackmailing them and the nation", and that "if Terry Walsh thinks India is a milking cow, he is wrong". Batra also accused Walsh of indulging in "financial fraud" during his time with the USA women's hockey team. Clearly, Batra didn't want the Australian to stay around.
After being asked by SAI and sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal to withdraw his resignation, Walsh agreed to have a dialogue to reach a compromise. After the team's return from Australia, a six-member committee had been formed to look into Walsh's demands. The committee met Walsh on November 14 and November 17, but failed to reach any conclusion. The committee comprised Indian hockey legends Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Kumar and Zafar Iqbal, India's high-performance director Roelant Oltmans, Setia and Norman.
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