Australian Terry Walsh’s tryst with Indian hockey is all but over.
Despite a marathon six-hour meeting on Monday by the special committee, the issue of Walsh’s continuation as chief coach remained unresolved.
A final meeting with Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has been scheduled for Tuesday.
And while the Australian put the ball in Hockey India’s court on the final decision, the federation seemed in no mood to negotiate.
“To be honest, the support from the government and the SAI has been really productive. I think there are some steps we have to take if we are going to solve the interaction with Hockey India, and that’s really where it is at the moment,” Walsh said after the meeting.
The special SAI-appointed committee included Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal, SAI executive director (TEAMS) Sudhir Setia with Ajitpal Singh as the chairman. Hockey India CEO Elena Norman, High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans and Walsh himself were also present.
Ajitpal seemed hopeful though he admitted there was little more that could be done after almost 10 hours of meeting over two days. But Hockey India president Narinder Batra insisted his issues with Walsh were financial, not administrative.
“Walsh was with the US women’s hockey team before coming to India. I received documents during the FIH Congress in Morocco that there are charges of financial irregularities against his name during his term there. I have already spoken to Ajitpal Singh and submitted the documents to the committee. All I am asking for is clarification from Walsh on the issue.
“It is a serious concern and if it is true, then it is not possible for me to utilise his services even if the government agrees. The SAI is willing to transfer financial powers to him and Oltmans on a yearly basis but if something goes wrong, I will be held responsible. Other than that, I have no issues with him or his performance as a coach,” Batra told The Hindu .
Asked about the fact that Walsh had resigned before this issue cropped up, Batra reiterated that the other issues that needed resolution were already negotiated about in the meeting before the Indian team left for its Australia tour.
Though Walsh did not mention it, he did indicate there were certain issues that needed resolution.
“Certain things were brought up right at the tail and we just need to move forward on them. The reality is that time is running out, the door is closing and, from my perspective, I resigned on October 19, so we have time till day after tomorrow,” Walsh said.
In fact, he proposed an impromptu press conference on Tuesday, taking even the other committee members by surprise.
Published - November 18, 2014 03:03 am IST
