Indian hockey crew’s Australian chief coach Graham Reid resigned on Monday, taking accountability for the hosts’ World Cup failure. India, who gained bronze on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to finish a 41-year wait, completed joint ninth within the event staged in Odisha.
“It’s now time for me to step apart and hand over the reins to the subsequent administration. It has been an honour and privilege to work with the crew and Hockey India (HI) and I’ve loved each second of this epic journey. I want the crew all the perfect,” mentioned Reid, who joined India in April 2019.
Reid took Indian hockey to its greatest success for 41 years in Tokyo, the place the Manpreet Singh-led aspect achieved their first podium end since their 1980 Moscow Olympics victory. Nonetheless, the World Cup turned out to be an enormous disappointment as India didn’t even attain the quarter-finals, crashing out within the crossovers to New Zealand.
India then gained the classification matches towards Japan and South Africa to complete joint ninth, the worst displaying by a bunch nation on the World Cup. The earlier worst shows had been Argentina in Buenos Aires 1978, Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur 2002 and India in New Delhi 2010.
After submitting his resignation to HI president Dilip Tirkey, Reid addressed the crew and assist workers on Friday night to convey his choice. Many gamers had been stunned. “He took us to our biggest end in 41 years which exhibits he is an effective coach,” mentioned a crew member on situation of anonymity.
Reid informed the gamers that if he couldn’t ship outcomes then it was time to maneuver on, after which the gamers mentioned their goodbyes to the Australian.
The Indian crew’s analytical coach Greg Clark and scientific advisor Mitchell David Pemberton additionally tendered their resignations, on Monday morning. All three will serve their discover interval over the subsequent month.
Tirkey, together with HI secretary basic Bholanath Singh, met the gamers and assist workers to grasp and analyse the crew’s efficiency and technique for the best way forward.
Having accepted the resignations, Tirkey, a former India skipper, mentioned: “India will at all times have gratitude to Reid and his crew of assist workers who’ve introduced good outcomes to the nation, notably within the Olympics. As all journeys transfer to totally different phases, it’s now time for us to maneuver on in the direction of a brand new method for our crew.”
A few India gamers mentioned on situation of anonymity that they had been sad with the coaching strategies of Pemberton, who was employed after Robin Arkell left after the Tokyo Olympics. South African Arkell was with Germany, who lifted the World Cup on Sunday night after beating Belgium in sudden loss of life shootout.
Reid was given a free hand to pick the World Cup crew contemplating the success he had on the Olympics. There was lot of dialogue in hockey circles on the penalty takers within the crossover sport defeat towards New Zealand after probably the most skilled gamers weren’t picked to do the difficult job.
In hockey, most selections are taken by the bench, which is headed by the chief coach. Reid has historically backed younger gamers. For instance, he selected a younger Shamsher Singh over the skilled Akashdeep Singh whereas heading to Tokyo. However selecting youth within the shootout backfired this time round.
This World Cup was a golden alternative for Harmanpreet Singh and his crew to construct on the momentum gained within the Tokyo Olympics. However the crew’s performances have been common submit the Olympics. A drop in health ranges was clearly seen as India didn’t even qualify for the quarter-finals.
India may win bronze on the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy — their first occasion after the Tokyo Olympics. Although they completed a commendable third within the Professional League towards the very best nations on the planet, they had been humiliated within the remaining of the 2022 Commonwealth Video games in Birmingham, shedding 0-7 to Australia. Additionally they misplaced 4 of the 5 matches in a collection in Australia earlier than coming into the World Cup in Odisha.
It’s learnt that HI has contacted a few worldwide coaches to take over the reins because the crew must construct up for the postponed Hangzhou Asian Video games (23 September to eight October) and the 2024 Paris Olympics. A call on Reid’s successor is anticipated to be made in February.