Following his recent interview, Harendra Singh emerged as the front-runner to take Janneke Schopman’s place as the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team. The national organization believes Singh is the most qualified candidate to improve the team after it was unable to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Before taking the helm as the coach of the US men’s national team in 2021, Harendra held this same role previously.
“Yes, Harendra is in line to replace Janneke. Hockey India is keen to appoint him. He knows the structure of Indian hockey having coached both the men’s and women’s teams in the past. He is the best person to take the women’s side to where it belongs,” a source in the national federation told PTI.
“Moreover, it is in his best interest also having been out of the country for the past couple of years. The only issue which remains is negotiation of salary because he is drawing a handsome amount in the US and it remains to be seen whether it can be matched,” the source added.
Although Bhola Nath Singh, secretary-general of Hockey India, acknowledged that Harendra attended the interview, but added that his appointment is still pending because there are still other candidates.
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The Sports Ministry limits Indian coaches’ monthly compensation to Rs 3 lakh per month, but it has been reported that Harendra is requesting more due to his current package with the US team.
Should Harendra be appointed, he will take over from Schopman, who resigned last month, citing a challenging work environment for foreign coaches in India following the women’s team’s failure to make it to the Paris Games.
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