By IANS
New Delhi : After brainstorming sessions with Olympians and former coaches, the Indian Hockey Federation office-bearers and the members of the Executive Committee sat down Tuesday to prepare a road plan for the revival of the game in the country.
The IHF officials had apparently spent a lot of time discussing the role Australian coach Ric Charlesworth will have in their scheme of things. Ideally, they would like both Charlesworth and national coach Joaquim Carvalho to coexist, but that do not appear to be all that easy in view of what happened in the run up to the disastrous Olympic qualifier in Santiago.
Charlesworth met the IHF officials in the evening and after three hours left without saying anything.
Charlesworth, an appointee of the world body, has made it known that he has been sent to work with the national team and he would settle for nothing less.
IHF, though, is wary of handing over the reins of the senior team to the Australian, but after failing to qualify for the Olympics, it is under immense pressure to give Charlesworth a major say in the running of the senior team.
With no official word coming out, speculation was rife about the deliberations inside IHF president K P S Gill’s residence.
“IHF had tried every way possible to keep Charlesworth away from the national team but they cannot wish him away under the present circumstances,” a senior IHF official hinted to IANS.
The federation also fears roping in Charlesworth might put them under constant scrutiny of the world body, the official said.
Current coach Carvalho, has made his disliking for Charlesworth no secret. The national coach put in his papers soon after the team lost to Britain in the final in Santiago. But he now feels that he alone should not be held responsible for the fiasco.