Pual van Ass had been appointed barely five months back. (Source: File) Pual van Ass had been appointed barely five months back. (Source: File)

WITH just a year to go for the Rio Olympics, Indian hockey has slumped into another crisis with chief coach Paul van Ass claiming on Monday that he had been sacked by Hockey India last week, barely five months after he was appointed.

Van Ass told The Indian Express that he did not know why he had been dismissed but said “one of the reasons” could be an onfield spat that he had with Hockey India president Narinder Batra after India’s win in the quarterfinal against Malaysia this month.

Earlier in the tournament, India had drawn the game against Pakistan.

According to Van Ass, Batra also told the players that “sponsors would discontinue their support” if they kept playing the same way.

On Friday, The Indian Express had first reported on the spat that took place at the World League in Antwerp on July 1.

Van Ass said that while the dismissal was yet to be officially communicated to him, he had received an email from compatriot and Hockey India high performance director Roelant Oltmans on July 13, stating that his services were no longer required.

“Officially, no reason has been given to me. But I sent off Batra from the hockey pitch after the quarterfinal in Belgium. He was talking to the players and I didn’t like that. It was not the time and place for a president to address players. I know he was very upset by that. So that could be the reason,” Van Ass said.

The 54-year-old said Batra was “criticising the players for their poor performance and failure to beat Pakistan” in the group stages of the tournament.

Batra dismissed the coach’s allegations, saying he never entered the field to speak to the players.

Van Ass said: “He (Batra) was talking to the players in Hindi. I initially thought he was giving them a pep talk. But from the body language of the players I figured out he was criticising them. I didn’t like that so I jumped in. My job on the pitch is to protect the players and that’s what I did.”

He added: “Batra didn’t like the (previous) game against Pakistan. He was unhappy we couldn’t beat them and found the performance very poor. He thought the sponsors would go away if we continued playing like this. I didn’t understand why he would say that because we had just qualified for the semifinal.”

Hockey India have, meanwhile, called for a meeting in New Delhi on July 24 when they will decide the next course of action.

If the federation confirms the decision, Van Ass will be the fifth national hockey coach in the last five years to be shown the door.

The Dutchman’s predecessors Terry Walsh, Michael Nobbs and Jose Brasa were all shown the door after a fallout with the federation. The only Indian coach to be employed during this period, Harender Singh, is now the junior team head coach.

Van Ass, who was the coach of the silver medal-winning Dutch team at the London Olympics, is known to be outspoken.

However, his impeccable coaching record was why Hockey India and Sports Authority of India (SAI) decided to appoint him in January.

In his short stint, Van Ass was in charge of the team in two tournaments — the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in which India ended with a bronze and the World League in Belgium where it finished fourth.

Hockey India had asked the coaching staff, including Van Ass, for reports on the team’s performance. The federation had claimed that Van Ass had failed to submit his report despite repeated attempts to reach him. Officials were also miffed at the coach’s failure to return in time for a national training camp, which began in Shilaroo on July 19.

Van Ass, however, dismissed these claims and accused Hockey India of being “dishonest”.

“Hockey India is being dishonest and not telling the truth. They have the power to sack me, not a big problem. But now, everybody thinks I don’t want to come,” he said.

“One week after the Belgium tournament, I was fired by Hockey India. I have been waiting for more than a week for the final and official letter… I did not get tickets for the camp in Shilaroo. It’s not me, it’s Hockey India.”

Despite his outburst, Van Ass said he is willing to return and take charge of the team again. “I have never asked to quit. If they call me, I will be happy to return,” he said.

Batra maintained that no official decision regarding Van Ass’s future had been taken.

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