Harendra Singh Steps Down As Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach, Why Did Half The Team Turn Against Their Coach?

The abrupt quitting of Harendra Singh as the Indian women’s hockey team’s head coach has startled the sporting circles of the country and has made the internal conflicts that were masked by the team’s success very visible. What at first looked like a simple coaching change soon turned into a huge crisis, with reports coming out that almost half of the team had said no to playing under his command.

Why Did Harendra Singh Resign? Was It Due To ‘Personal Reasons?’

The resignation of Harendra Singh came as a big surprise to many when almost half of the women’s hockey team refused to play under his coach. A report by Telecom Asia Sport citing sources said that the senior players had sent a letter to the Sports Ministry which was full of accusations against the coach and his staff. They accused them of committing things such as ‘high handedness, favouritism and mental harassment’ The injured players were also saying that 12 to 13 in number were pressured to keep their injuries secret during the selection trials, and they felt that the environment was not only creating distrust between them and the system but also undermining their health. The situation was so bad that players were reluctant to go to the national camps, and the players’ warning was clear that if the same thing continued, it would be future performances and medals that would be lost. 

The complaints were voiced, and the governing body Hockey India (HI) under pressure from the Sports Ministry intervened. Among the officials, the top management of HI took part in the national camp at Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru center and had brief discussions with every single player. The gist was clear almost half of the team said that they would not be able to go on with Harendra Singh’s coaching anymore, which made HI deduce that the issue was beyond their control. On that particular day, Harendra Singh handed in his resignation, giving ‘personal reasons’ as the official reason.

Harendra Singh’s Tenure As Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach

The tenure of Harendra Singh as head coach can be compared to a roller coaster ride. At the beginning of his period in April 2024, the coach and team won the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy and thus the team was quite successful right away. Nonetheless, the following season, 2024-25, was a total catastrophe, the team got relegated as it finished last and just two victories were notched in a total of sixteen matches. Furthermore, there were injuries to a large number of players and the ever present rumors of a toxic environment caused by a forced play through injuries, favoritism, etc. have probably turned morale and trust upside down. Hockey India has already initiated a new head coach search campaign targeting the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers and the upcoming Women’s Hockey India League as the main events. Former coach Sjoerd Marijne is one of the top candidates being considered to take over the reins from his successor. This incident illustrates how significantly the off field dynamics injuries, team morale, management style can affect the stability and performance of a national sports program.

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