IWHF sacks national coaches

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 17. In an attempt to be more professional than before, the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) seems to have adopted the `hire and fire' policy.

The national coaches, A.K. Bansal and N.S. Saini, have been replaced by P.P. Anthony and Madhu Karan, who will be conducting the next camp in the build-up for the World Cup qualifying Test series against the United States.

Though the President of IWHF, Ms. Vidya Stokes, is categorical that the move is a temporary measure and that the fired coaches were not debarred from future assignments - the displeasure of the management about the non-qualification of the team for the World Cup is evident.

``We had given them the opportunity, and the condition was that if you win a place for the World Cup you continue. Otherwise, we may have to think of a change. It was our commitment to them, and their commitment as well,'' said Ms. Stokes, as she explained the move.

Bansal and company may be peeved at being sacked, politely though, despite the fact that the team had played well and stood a good chance for qualification, especially in the light of the United States team being reluctant to tour the country, which may see India take its berth by default.

The Indian team had also done well to square a four- Test series in New Zealand earlier, under the coaching guidance of Bansal.

In the recent World Cup qualifying tournament in France, India ended up seventh, and the FIH had ruled in advance that the team finishing seventh would have to play a three-Test series against the United States to book the last qualifier's slot.

Originally, the top seven teams were set to qualify, but the withdrawal of the United States following the attack in New York and Washington on September 11, had made the FIH take a sympathetic stance towards the US team, that resulted in the alteration of the qualification procedure.

``Anthony is a good coach. We had tried to get him before and he could not make it because of domestic reasons. He has coached our junior team, and knows the girls. If the team does not qualify, we may change him also,'' said Ms. Stokes.

The Bangalore based Anthony had taken an Indian junior team to the U.S. two years ago, and the team won a four-nation tournament, beating England in the final, after having lost to the same team in the league.

He was also the coach of the Indian team that finished third in the Junior Asia Cup last year.

As a successful coach in men's hockey when he piloted Indian Oil to the title in Nehru hockey tournament last year, apart from winning the sub-junior Asia Cup in Singapore and being assistant coach to V. Baskaran for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, it may be a setback for the 42-year-old Bansal, even as 2002 is set to unfold with the big events like the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.

But the Air India Academy coach based in the Capital has no option but to bide time at the moment.

As far as the team is concerned, there may be a fear haunting the senior players like Sita Gussain, Pritam Thakran and Manjinder Kaur that they may be eased out of the team, in the pretext of blooding youth.

The IWHF president, however, has assured that there would not be major changes in the team, and that the senior players need not worry about retaining their place till the last word is said on the World Cup qualification.

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