Women’s Hockey coach Harendra Singh has decided to step down from his position on Monday, citing personal reasons, in an email to Hockey India. The exit from the Indian Women’s Hockey team was unexpected since his tenure began only in April 2024, and was expected to continue until the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
However, following the conversation with the players, the behaviour of the coach of Indian women’s Hockey team was one of the major reasons why at least half of the team did not want to play under his leadership.
Resignation of the Women’s Hockey Coach Harendra Singh
The Indian Hockey fraternity was rocked when the Women’s Hockey coach, Harendra Singh, stepped down from his position, citing personal reasons. The case, however, took a turn within a short period following a series of complaints by some of the senior players of the national team about the behaviour, dismissing the facts of Harendra Singh personal reasons.
According to reports, over fifty percent of the Indian team said they were not willing to play under him, and this compelled the intervention of Hockey India and the Sports Ministry. Hockey India officials, among them the president Dilip Tirkey, visited the national camp in Bengaluru and had one-on-one meetings with every player.
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Following this in-house evaluation, it was obvious that the players were deeply worried about his highhandedness, high level of pressure in training, and favouritism in the team set-up. Harendra Singh behaviour complaints were not new, as the players were reported to have expressed such concerns three to four months before.
Similarly, the Indian women’s Hockey team’s coach leadership also lowered the performance of the team, as they were able to win only two out of 16 in the FIH Pro League, which ranked them last and resulted in relegation. (1) They also lost the Asia Cup final to China, which threatened their qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Despite poor performances and injuries to almost 10-11 players in an unfavorable environment, Hockey India chose to part ways with him. Although Women’s Hockey coach Harendra Singh indicated that he resigned on personal grounds, the internal factors contributed largely to his resignation.
However, in the India Women’s Hockey team coach latest news, the team is on the search for a new coach, where one of the best names under consideration is former coach Sjoerd Marijne, who helped India achieve a historic fourth place in the Tokyo Olympics. With this, Ric Charlesworth, an Australian legend, is under consideration as well.
Milestones of the Coach of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team
Despite the controversial exit of the Women’s Hockey coach Harendra Singh, he has achieved some significant milestones during his long career as the chief of the team. He is the first coach of the women’s team, and in 2017, he guided them to the Women’s Asia Cup trophy. (2) His achievement brought him credit as a talented tactician who was well-versed in Indian Hockey.
Similarly, the Indian women’s Hockey team coach also won the historic Junior World Cup in 2016 with the junior men’s team, before returning to the women’s team in 2024. He briefly coached the senior men’s team in 2018 and has worked on multiple occasions as an interim coach. Along with this, India became the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy champions under his latest tenure in Rajgir, which was one of the first trophies of his second term.
Even though Women’s Hockey coach Harendra Singh tenure as a coach team ended suddenly, his input in the past twenty years is quite remarkable in developing modern Indian Hockey.
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Jyoti Sharma’s Take
As a writer, I feel the case of Women’s Hockey coach Harendra Singh shows the importance of trust and team environment to success. Being the the coach of the Indian women’s Hockey team, he helped the team to achieve significant milestones, but the lack of communication and pressure influenced the cohesiveness of the team.
Although the coach mentioned personal reasons leading to his resignation, the increasing number of Harendra Singh behaviour complaints were a significant factor. Any new Coach of the team should be keen on restoring some confidence and stability, so that the trust between the management and players is maintained.
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