“It’s not my moment. These boys are the heroes today. So I’ll sit back and let them take over.”
That’s what Harendra Singh – the coach of India’s 2016 Junior World Cup team – said after his side’s title win. Five months from that day last December, one of India’s finest hockey brains will no longer be considered for another stint in the middle of what’s turning into a blame game between Hockey India and Harendra.
A visit to Oman, a missed advertisement and a congratulatory SMS turned out to be the recipe of “miscommunication” that will soon see Jude Felix replacing Harendra in the hot seat.
The ongoing junior team’s camp in Bengaluru is being overseen by HI’s High Performance Director David John, but Felix’s appointment is only pending the approval of the Sports Authority of India.
All this after HI found Harendra unavailable to continue, only to be refuted by the man himself days later.
‘For India, I’m always available’
Earlier this year, Harendra was invited by the Oman Hockey Association for felicitation and talks on how to improve hockey in the country, which was followed by reports in Muscat about him being possibly appointed as technical consultant.
However, speaking to Scroll.in, Harendra refuted any such claims as plain rumours.
“I never accepted any coaching job in Oman,” he said. “I was there only because they wanted to honour me and sought my suggestions to improve their hockey. When I know I can serve the game in my country, why will I look anywhere else?”
However, in a report published on muscatdaily.com in March, the OHA chairman, Talib al Wahaibi, confirmed ongoing talks with Harendra.
The congratulatory SMS
Upon his return to India, an SMS popped up on Harendra’s phone. It was from Roelant Oltmans, the senior India coach. “Congratulations,” it read, wishing Harendra for his new job in Oman. “Ha ha ha,” Harendra replied, followed by a sarcastic thank you. In the ensuing text messages between the two, Harendra explained his position in no uncertain terms.
“Roelant sent a congratulatory message, to which I replied jokingly. In further communication, I clarified why would I go and coach Oman when I know I can contribute in India,” Harendra said.
The missed advertisement
HI and SAI advertised on their websites for the post of junior team’s coach, but it somehow missed Harendra’s eye, which he admits to be his fault.
“If they advertised, then I admit my mistake to miss it,” he said. “If I haven’t applied for a position, why should I be considered, but at the same time it’s wrong to construe that I am unavailable and working for someone else. That’s not true. I am totally available for any role in Indian hockey, be it with seniors, juniors, development squad, developing coaches, etc.”
The coach further said that he never went through any such process in his past appointments with HI and SAI. “In the past I have only been called for a meeting and told that you are the coach, after which HI sent an official letter to Air India informing about my appointment and seeking approval,” he added.
‘Won’t work for free now’
Coaches employed with government bodies are not paid separately if they are coaching any teams outside their organisation, but Harendra said he won’t accept that from now on. “Now, I will accept any role under two conditions: one, I won’t work under any foreign coach except Ric Charlesworth, and two, I won’t work without any remuneration,” he said.
As far as working under a foreign coach is concerned, the love-hate relationship between Harendra and Oltmans is well known in hockey spheres, especially after the latter chose to sit in the dugout during the Junior World Cup in Lucknow, where Harendra was the chief coach.
The Air India man said it’s for him to tackle when it comes to earning outside the organisation he is employed with. “Many cricket coaches working for Air India have signed [paid] coaching contracts,” he said. “If they can, then why can’t a hockey coach? And in the end, it’s for me to decide what I want to choose.”
Felix’s previous national coaching stint was with the senior national team as an assistant to Paul Van Ass. However, Felix, who runs a grassroot academy in Bengaluru, resigned under controversial circumstances wherein he allegedly reported Gurbaj Singh for misbehaviour in his report to HI.