Bad removal of Sreejesh in just 15 months: Felix (Image: X)
KOLKATA: Former India hockey captain Jude Felix has come down hard on Hockey India, criticizing its handling of PR Sreejesh’s departure, calling it “wrong” to remove him from the role barely 15 months.Felix, who took charge of the men’s junior team in 2017, was himself dismissed in 2019 after less than two years despite leading India to gold in the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers, bronze in the 2017 Sultan of Johor Cup and silver in 2018.Speaking to TOI, Felix said, “If Hockey India picked Sreejesh, it means they believed he was good enough. He may not have had the experience, but that will come with time. If you appoint someone, you can’t remove them within 15 months. That’s wrong.”The former India assistant coach added: “For someone who has contributed so much, especially winning two Olympic bronze medals, I would have used him differently. I would have built a goalkeeper factory under him. Goalkeeper is a key position and he could have developed a whole generation. Instead, they made him a coach and then sacked him.”However, Hockey India said it has offered Sreejesh the role of coach of the development team, which is seen as key to the build-up to LA 2028 and the next Olympic cycle.“This would have boosted his experience and exposure as a coach. However, he did not accept the position despite being asked to reconsider the decision,” the federation said.Felix also criticized the removal of P Shanmugam from the Indian women’s squad before questioning Hockey India’s reliance on foreign coaches and their failure at the grassroots level, echoing concerns raised by Sreejesh in a social media post on Tuesday.“Did foreign coaches come into the system and build it? No. They worked on the surface, took their salaries and left,” Felix said.He also pointed out that India had not improved on their fifth World Cup finish since 1994 and highlighted what he called a lack of progress despite heavy investment.However, Felix admitted that “we don’t have enough top quality Indian coaches”.“You can say we have produced 600 coaches through certification programmes. You can even say 1,600. But show me 60 top coaches who understand individual skills, team structure, corrections and player development,” the Dronacharya awardee asked.“The problem starts with the fundamentals. The level of coaching is very mediocre and that is reflected at every level.”The solution, according to Felix, is to have the right people to select coaches and to introduce a structured uniform coaching system across the country.“It’s going to take time, but it’s possible,” he said, adding, “coaching is about building a complete player — a forward who can play defense and a defenseman who can attack. Total hockey.”Finally, Felix argued that unless local coaching, long-term planning and accountability are prioritized, Indian hockey will continue to struggle despite strong resources.
