David John resigns as Hockey India's high-performance director
Hockey India’s high-performance director David John has stepped down from his post owing to personal reasons with just a year left for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Australian served as a psychologist for the men’s hockey team during his first stint with Hockey India back in 2011.
David John was the second-highest-paid hockey coaching staff with a remuneration of $12,000 per month, only next to head coach Graham Reid, with the contract being renewed three weeks ago and was supposed to expire on September 2021 following the Tokyo Olympics. But, as per the latest development, John has quit from his existing post citing personal reasons with just months left for the mega event.
Surprisingly, Hockey India has accepted the resignation before any approval from his employers - the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Even though it was reported that the resignation was due to personal reasons, people having the knowledge claim that the growing differences of the coach with the federation’s top management acted as a catalyst for the early exit.
The Australian began his stint with Hockey India back in 2011, as an exercise psychologist with the men’s team under head coach and compatriot Michael Nobbs. He stepped down after India’s poor show at the 2012 London Olympics and returned as the High-Performance Director four years later.
Everything was rosy, until 2018, when he was dropped from the senior team’s selection panel following allegations of favouritism against him, with Sardar Singh also blaming the Aussie for his decision to retire ahead of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Even though he was on the brink of being axed several times, he managed to stay in the mix, before stepping down on Friday.