Indian men's hockey team chief coach Paul van Ass claims that he has been fired by Hockey India following his ... Read More

NEW DELHI: Indian men's hockey team chief coach Paul van Ass on Monday created a flutter by claiming that he has been fired by Hockey India following his alleged public altercation with federation president Narinder Batra, throwing the sport into yet another phase of uncertainty.

After days of intense speculation over his fate, the outspoken Dutchman on Monday came out in the open to clear his position and said that he was conveyed that his services were no longer required.

Blog: Indian hockey – beaten again by bruised administrative egos

"As far I know I was fired one week after the Hockey World League Semi-finals in Antwerp, Belgium. Roelant Oltmans (High Performance Director) was asked to replace me," Van Ass told PTI from The Netherlands.

"I have been told on January 13 that Dr. Batra doesn't want me to be the coach any more. Roelant called and informed me about this," he said.

"I am yet to get official confirmation but I expect it to get it by the end of this week. That is precisely the reason why I didn't turn up for the camp," the Dutchman said.

There was no immediate confirmation of the development Hockey India or Van Ass' employer the Sports Authority of India .

Hockey India has outrightly denied that Van Ass' has been sacked and said that he had not reported for his duty on the stipulated date.

If Van Ass is indeed relived of his duty he would become the fourth foreign coach to be shown the door even since Hockey India took the reins of the game in 2009.

Van Ass's predecessors Jose Brasa, Michael Nobbs and Terry Walsh -- all of whom were hired by SAI on the recommendations of HI at hefty salaries -- also left the country on an unceremonious note.

Van Ass's future with the Indian team was in serious doubt after he failed to report on time for the national team's camp that began at the scenic Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Shilaroo, Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.

The theory that the Dutchman won't be continuing as the coach gathered further steam when he failed to submit his report on India's performance at the recently concluded World Hockey League semi-finals in Antwerp, Belgium.

According to media reports, Van Ass had a public spat with HI president Narinder Batra after the quarterfinal match against Malaysia at the World League semifinals.

Asked Van Ass about the possible reason behind his unceremonious ouster, he said: "There is no reason, they will find a reason now."

Van Ass confirmed that the public spat with Batra during the World League Semi-finals was the main reason for his ouster.

"After our win over Malaysia Dr. Batra came on the pitch and spoke to players in Hindi. I though he was commending the players but instead it turned out he was criticising the players," he said.

"Then I jumped in because pitch is my area and I need to protect my players. Also I felt we played quite well in that match and won it."

A hurt Van Ass, however, said if asked he is still willing to resume his duties and return back to India.

"Don't ask me anything, ask Hockey India. I didn't step aside... I was asked to go," he said.

"I have no problem," was his reaction when asked if he is eager to return to India. I have never stepped out."

Van Ass, who was appointed at the end of January this year, was awarded a three-year contract till 2018.

The World League semifinals in Antwerp, earlier this month, was Van Ass' the second assignment with the Indian team.

Van Ass took over as coach of the Indian team after the post remained vacant for little over three months following Walsh's sudden resignation just three weeks after guiding India to the Asian Games gold medal after a hiatus of 16 years.

Former and current India players feel that Van Ass' "firing" barely five months into the job could prove to be detrimental to the country's preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

A senior member of the national team said at the end of the day it is the players who suffer the most in the frequent change of coaches.

"It (Change of coaches) definitely affects us. It affects our training, our performance, our preparation (for Rio Olympics). It takes time for players to build rapport with a coach. It takes time to understand and then adapt to a coach's style. So, if the chief coach is changed frequently it is bound to affect our performance," a senior member of the national team told PTI.

"The Olympics is just a year away and this sort of uncertainty is only going to hamper our preparation," he said.

Former international hockey player and son of legendary Dhyan Chand, Ashok Kumar said it is an unfortunate situation which the national team find itself now but feels Hockey India needs to believe in a coach.

"Not doubt our Olympic preparation is in jeopardy after this development. People now have their own ego in hockey and can't tolerate criticism. Nowadays, we don't debate on our performance in public forum, which used to be the case earlier. So people can't take criticism," he said.

"What I feel is that HI needs to believe in a coach and not put question mark. There is short time left for the Olympics, we must believe in the coach," said Kumar, a member of India's bronze medal winning side in 1972 Munich Olympics.

Captain of India's 1975 World Cup winning side in Kuala Lumpur, Ajit Pal Singh, however, feels Van Ass's is accountable to his employers.

Ajit Pal said Van Ass's has contractual obligations.

"It (coach) should have been a continuous process. After Walsh Van Ass took charge of the team. If we keen changing the horse frequently in between it will definitely affect us," he said.

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