Former head coach Harendra Singh with the team. (Image: File) NEW DELHI: Concerns are growing in India’s sports administration circles that promising gains made by the country’s women’s hockey team over the years could be lost in the latest spat between players and coaches. Head coach Harendra Singh’s exit from the national set-up amid allegations of mental harassment, outdated coaching methods and favoritism prompted the Sports Ministry to step in and defuse the crisis. It directed the Indian Sports Authority’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) division and senior administrators at the SAI-run regional center in Bengaluru, where both hockey teams train, to hold discussions with seniors and key members of the women’s team. The aim is to understand the reasons for the rebellion against Harendra, assess its consequences, end any factionalism and extinguish the simmering tensions in the team to avoid such ugly episodes in the future. “We want the women’s hockey team to focus solely on their preparations and matches rather than getting involved in such player-coach politics. We were all there to help them and provide the best of training facilities, funding, exposure tours, international competitions and coaching,” an official told TOI.However, the representatives of the ministry admitted that HI mishandled and misunderstood the whole situation, when the federation was supposed to play a much more active role. “His resignation should be handled in a gracious manner. He left after realizing that there was no one in the federation to support his coaching ideas. Internal politics cannot be allowed to win,” another official added. The ministry understands that next year is an important one for Indian hockey with the Asian Games and the World Cup coming up.
