5 months ago
2
The abrupt resignation of the Indian women's hockey squad caput coach, Harendra Singh, was prompted by a bid of players' complaints against his "outdated and dictatorial" benignant of working.
Harendra, who joined the squad successful April 2024, amazed the fraternity by resigning arsenic caput manager connected Monday (December 1, 2025).
Sources, however, revealed to PTI that determination had been sizeable choler among the players regarding his moving benignant for a agelong time, and they had complained of "mental harassment" to Hockey India, SAI TOPS officials, and the Sports Ministry past week.
According to sources, the Sports Ministry took cognizant of the players' complaints and directed Hockey India to instrumentality contiguous action.
Sources stated that the players had complained astir his authoritarian attitude, coaching methods, and the team's consistently declining performance.
They besides said that the SAI TOPS officials, who were sent to Bengaluru for inspection 4 months ago, had besides fixed a "negative" report.
Recognizing the seriousness of the issue, the probe was conducted wrong 4 days, with precise fewer radical informed. Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey and Secretary General Bholanath Singh arrived astatine the Sports Authority of India successful Bengaluru straight from the ongoing Junior Hockey World Cup successful Chennai and Madurai and spoke individually with the players participating successful the camp.
It has been learned that astir of the players had demanded the replacement of the full coaching staff, including the caput coach.
Almost everyone rated Harendra Singh little than erstwhile coaches Sjoerd Marijne and Janneke Schopman. Many players besides said that his beingness was not benefiting the team.
After receiving feedback from the players, his resignation was accepted. When asked if determination were immoderate different allegations against the coach, a elder subordinate said, "All our complaints were lone astir hockey. We lone had problems with his mediocre cognition and coaching methods, and we wanted change.”
"The team's show and fittingness levels person plummeted, and mediocre coaching practices person near implicit a twelve players injured. How tin specified a squad triumph a medal?" the played asked.
In the aftermath of Harendra's departure, the women's hockey squad campy successful Bengaluru has been called off, and each players person returned location until further notice.
There is speculation astir the instrumentality of Dutch manager Sjoerd Marijne, who led the squad to a fourth-place decorativeness astatine the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, arsenic caput coach.
Players accidental tensions wrong the squad were affecting performance, and nary 1 was performing to their afloat potential.
A elder subordinate said, "We felt a batch of hostility earlier matches, during matches, connected the field, and successful the changing room, and the ambiance was becoming progressively unpleasant.
"We were ever blamed for the mediocre performance. Players successful the squad were perpetually getting injured, a effect of mediocre training."
Regarding allegations of players playing authorities and utilizing the manager arsenic a scapegoat, a subordinate said, "Many radical are saying that the manager was made a scapegoat aft the mediocre performance, oregon that the elder players were playing politics.
"This is their opinion, but we cognize the truth. Only we cognize what was going connected successful our team. We weren't seeing immoderate betterment successful our show and were fed up with the coach's attitude. That's wherefore we came guardant and said we request a caller coach," the played said.
