Harendra Singh unwilling to compromise on his terms in pursuit of the junior hockey team coach’s job

Harendra Singh unwilling to compromise on his terms in pursuit of the junior hockey team coach’s job

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Harendra Singh has exclaimed that he is available to be appointed as the Indian junior team’s coach only if he is provided with the same resources and wages as the foreign coaches usually get. The position is currently vacant with the deadline for applying for the post being the fifth of August.

Harendra Singh has been in talks to reclaim his position as the coach of the men’s junior hockey team but his demands have kept Hockey India from making the appointment official. After a string of disappointing performances, a sixth position finish in a tournament in Madrid was the final nail in the coffin for ex-coach Jude Felix and the position of head coach has been lying vacant since the past month. 

“I had applied for the position long back and I am still open for it but my terms and conditions remain the same. I want my terms and conditions to be at par with the foreign coaches, be it salary and facilities. There will be no compromise on this,” Harendra told PTI, reported Hindustan Times.

Singh has previously served as the head coach for the junior team, having been appointed to the post in 2014. He had led the team to the World Cup title in 2016, before working with the senior’s women team. His stint there was successful too, as they won the gold medal in the Asia Cup in 2017 in his tenure. The success meant he was appointed coach of the men’s team whom he led to the silver medal in the Champions Trophy last year. 

However, he could not make the team replicate the success in the World Cup on home territory last year, leading to him being sacked. But he now the primary candidate for the junior team’s job, the contract for which is set to run until the next World Cup in 2021.

“Why can’t we be treated at par with foreign coaches?” Singh rightfully questioned.

The federation may be forced to look at other options, having already extended its deadline for applications twice with the present one set for August the fifth.

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