Hockey team's head coach resigns * Cites bureaucratic confines, stress on personal life * Sports Authority of India director-general promises to resolve issues * Says will convince Aussie to stay on
The great Indian hockey tamasha refuses to end.
In a dramatic turn of events, head coach Terry Walsh resigned on Tuesday, citing "bureaucratic confines" which he said were making it increasingly difficult for him to carry on.
In a letter to Sports Authority of India (SAI) director-general Jiji Thomson on Sunday, Walsh said, "I am finding it considerable difficulty adjusting to the decision-making style of the sporting bureaucracy in India which I believe, in the long term, is not in the best interests of Indian hockey or its players." The 60-year-old Australian added that the job was also putting too much stress on his personal life.
Hours after his resignation was made public on Tuesday, Walsh, whose contract was to run till the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, said he was ready to reconsider his decision if his contract was renewed according to his terms and conditions.
"We are right now in a position of re-negotiations and see how it may or may not turnout. Let's see what happens. We have got a month to solve that," Walsh said.
Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that he was hoping for a resolution and gave SAI 24 hours to prepare a report.
Well, it seems SAI is ready to play ball, and do whatever it takes to get the 1976 Montreal Olympics silver medallist to stay back. "We have appointed a committee to look into the matter. We will also have a discussion with Walsh tomorrow (Wednesday). He is a very good coach and we are confident of convincing him to stay back," Thomson told dna.
The "bureaucratic" problems that Walsh referred to was unnecessary interference in certain decision-making processes with regard to the team. "There are certain decisions that are made by the administrators, and certain that are made by the high-performance group. Sometimes, there was a difference in the way of thinking of the two groups, and the administrators wanted things to have their way. That is more or less the issue," Roelant Oltmans, Hockey India high-performance director and the man who suggested Walsh's name for the top job in October last year, told this paper.
"It's extremely sad because we are having a very good year and are in the process of constructing a quality team. The first solution, now, is to sort the problems between Walsh and the administration. If not, we'll have to start looking for some other person at some point in the near future," the Dutchman added.
However, a senior member of the Indian contingent that won the gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games, said it was a case of high-handedness and ego clashes. "A chief coach can't resign for issues as petty as these," the he told dna, requesting anonymity. "Look, when Walsh took over, he knew the Indian system. He knew what problems existed. You can't just solve those problems in a short period of time. He had to produce results within the existing system, and he has now realised that he can't."
The member questioned why Walsh took one year to realise that the system was wrong. "He basically earned a handsome $16,000 per month for one year, and then suddenly decided to bring up this issue. It's ridiculous," he added.
It was also reported that another reason for Walsh's ire was the tax deducted at source (TDS) by the government on his and some of the other support staff's salaries.
While Oltmans rubbished it, saying "there was no payment-related issue", the member said it was again a petty matter. "Eventually, we will all get that money back. SAI or the government will not keep it with them. No one is cheating Walsh," he added.
Hockey India president Narinder Batra said in a statement that all foreign members of the support staff were unhappy with the tax issue and hoped it would be sorted. "We suggest that SAI have a re-look at his (Walsh's) contract before November19 (when it expires) so that he may continue till the Olympics. We suggest for a meeting between SAI and Walsh," Batra said.
Walsh took over the team in October last year, and after a disappointing World Cup campaign, has a Commonwealth Games silver and Asian Games gold to show.
WALSH AS COACH
Terry Walsh took over as Team India's head coach in October last year. Here's how the team has fared at major events since...
SIXTH Hockey World League (January 2014)
NINTH FIH World Cup (June 2014)
SILVER Commonwealth Games (July-Aug 2014)
GOLD Asian Games (Sept-Oct 2014)
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