Poor show at Gold Coast CWG invites Hockey India’s red eye for Marijne

LUCKNOW: Trouble is brewing for India men’s hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne after the team’s embarrassing performance at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, with sources saying the Dutchman and his support staff could receive a ‘warning’ if not marching orders.

India failed to clinch a medal at the quadrennial games for the first time since 2006 Melbourne, finishing fourth. Sources said that eight senior India players, including skipper Manpreet Singh, had met Hockey India (HI) officials in New Delhi on Tuesday, and, after hearing their ‘grievances’, HI has decided to hold a review meeting this week.

It is learnt, the players spoke vehemently about the selection process followed by the Dutch expert. Marijne had blooded youngsters, such as Dilpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Gurinder Singh among others, at the cost of stalwarts like Sardar Singh and Ramandeep Singh.

“Everyone saw how brilliantly veterans SV Sunil and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh performed in Gold Coast? We needed to have more seniors in the side,” a member of the squad told HI bosses.

An HI official, who was present during the meeting with players, said on condition of anonymity that everyone’s views will be taken before taking a call on the coach and technical staff. Some kind of warning is definitely expected, if not marching orders to the coach, as the team’s showing was a huge disappointment.”

Another player went to the extent of saying at the meeting that the coach stopped giving fresh ideas after the narrow win over Wales. He said the team played on its own (after the Wales win) as there was nothing new in the coach’s planning, adding that if the players had to do everything on their own then what was the need for a coach.

The players who reportedly met the HI top brass included Sreejesh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh, among others.

The HI official said that keeping in view the three major tournaments lined up — Champions Trophy, Asian Games and the World Cup — all aspects of the game will be discussed threadbare and corrective measures taken. He said India couldn’t do well against teams ranked lower than them and managed only a win against England in the league phase despite government and HI providing support to the team.