Indian women's hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh resigns, citing personal reasons

Harendra Singh, the chief coach of the Indian women's hockey team, has decided to step down from the role owing to personal reasons, Hockey India informed in a statement on Monday. 

Explaining his decision, Harendra Singh said, “Coaching the Indian women’s hockey team has been a privilege that has been a highlight of my career. Though personal reasons call me to step away, my heart remains with this extraordinary team and their ongoing success. I will always cherish my journey with Hockey India and continue to support their efforts to take Indian hockey to the highest levels of achievement.”

Wishing him the best for his next chapter, Hockey India President Dr Dilip Tirkey said, "We thank Harendra Singh for his services and his exemplary experience. His commitment towards the development of Indian Hockey is well-known across the hockey community across the world. While we will announce a suitable replacement soon, we wish him the very best."

Bhola Nath Singh, Hockey India Secretary General, further added, “We extend our support to Harendra Singh and his contributions to the team. We wish him the very best and further continue to ensure the Indian Women's Team's preparations will continue as planned for the Qualifiers."

Though Harendra and Hockey India cited personal reasons for the decision to resign, sources claim that the matter is not as simple as it sounds.

Harendra has been under scrutiny for the last few months as the team's results have nosedived, and it has not only been relegated from the FIH Pro League but has also slipped down in World Rankings.

There are also claims that some players have made a recent complaint to the Sports Ministry alleging misbehaviour by Harendra with some players. The Ministry has sought a response from Hockey India, and though no evidence was found, Harendra seems to have taken moral responsibility.

Harendra, who has been employed with Air India, earlier with Indian Airlines, and coached their team at the national level, had a successful stint with the junior men's team, which he guided to the FIH Junior World Cup in 2016 in Lucknow.

He was first appointed the chief coach in 2018 when Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne was shunted to the men's team just before the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in 2018.

With the move not working for both sides, Marijne was given the charge of the women's team and eventually led the team to a historic fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Harendra was given charge of the senior national men's team in 2019.

While Janneke Schopman took over from her mentor as chief coach of the Indian women's team, Harendra was appointed head coach of the United States men's national team, where he stayed till 2024 before returning to India and was named the Indian women's team coach.

Picture Courtesy: IANS