By Admin 
In an unexpected development, Indian women’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh has resigned from the post with immediate effect citing ‘personal reasons’. Hockey India said in a statement issued late in the evening, “Indian women’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh has resigned from the post due to personal reasons.”
Harendra Singh took over the post only in April 2024 and it was understood that he would remain with the team till Los Angeles Olympics 2028. Sources said, the head coach of the team that finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Sjoerd Marin of Netherlands, may return to this post in the Indian team.
In a sudden development, Harendra Singh has sent an email to Hockey India informing that he is resigning from the post with immediate effect. He also said that this is purely his ‘personal decision’.
Regarding this decision, Harendra said, “Being the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team has been a big achievement in my career. I have decided to resign due to personal reasons but my heart will always be with this great team. The journey with Hockey India will be special for me and I will continue to support their efforts to take Indian hockey to the top level.
Sources said that Marin may return as the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, under whose guidance the Indian team finished fourth in a historic performance in the Tokyo Olympics. Marin resigned as head coach of the women’s hockey team in August 2021.
Sources have cited the poor performance of the team as the reason for the resignation. A source in Hockey India said, “In the last one and a half years, the team has not given the expected results even though all the desired facilities were given to the coach.” Fitness has also been a big issue and a dozen players in the team are injured.
Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said in a statement, “We thank Harendra Singh for his services. His commitment to Indian hockey is well known. We will announce his replacement soon.
Harendra Singh Lucknow was the coach of the 2016 World Cup-winning Indian junior men’s hockey team. He was the coach of the US national men’s hockey team from 2021 to 2024 before returning as the head coach of the Indian women’s team. She became the head coach of the Indian senior women’s team in September 2017, which won the Women’s Asia Cup that year.
After this, he became the head coach of the Indian men’s team in May 2018 in place of Shored Marin, but in January 2019, he was removed from the post due to poor performance. Before this, he had also been the interim head coach of the men’s team thrice.
The performance of the Indian women’s hockey team has been disappointing in the last one year. FIH Pro League 2024 In 25, the Indian team registered only two wins in 16 matches and played three draws while it had to face defeat in 11 matches. The Indian team finished last in the nine-team table with 10 points and failed to qualify for the next season.
India won the title in the Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir in November but there were second-rate teams from Japan and Korea. After losing the final in the Asia Cup, the Indian team could not qualify directly for the World Cup and now the qualifiers will have to be played.
Hockey India General Secretary Bholanath Singh said, “We thank Harendra Singh for his contribution to the Indian team. Indian women’s team’s preparation for the qualifiers will continue.