IHF tells Rach: take a break, axe is on hold

Amid intense media speculation over the fate of chief coach Gerhard Rach after the Indian team finished fourth at the Champions Trophy in La...

Amid intense media speculation over the fate of chief coach Gerhard Rach after the Indian team finished fourth at the Champions Trophy in Lahore, IHF president KPS Gill has decided to delay the announcement on Rach continuing as coach.

‘‘I had a one-on-one meeting with Mr Gill for about 25-30 minutes today and there was no talk about my contract with the team’’, Rach told The Indian Express after the meeting. ‘‘We only talked about the team’s performance in the Champions Trophy, and he agreed that I was under a lot of pressure to deliver in the tournament.’’

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Gill, Rach said, had asked him to ‘‘take a vacation and return in mid-January’’, when a ‘‘final decision will be taken’’. But with no major assignment for the team in the interim, one wonders what significant changes the federation expects by then.

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‘‘I feel I have a 50-50 chance of returning’’, Rach said. He had expressed the same feelings on his return from Lahore Monday night. ‘‘I have never played games like this, but now I am forced to. It’s a pity, but I can’t help it’’, he’d said.

The team plays a one-off test against France at the end of the month and it appears clear Rach — sent on vacation — won’t be at the helm of affairs for that. ‘‘It’s not a big issue, the match is not very important’’, Rach said when this was pointed out to him.

That leaves Jagbir Singh in charge for the France match, and makes him a contender for the post after Rach’s departure.

Even the players seem resigned to a new coach in the new season. ‘‘I personally feel his time is up’’, said one player. Another admitted the coach was on his ‘‘last legs in charge of the team.’’

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Given the IHF’s past record, it would not be surprising if the federation announces its decision before January 11, when Gill has asked Rach to be back for final consultation. And since Rach does not have a formal contract with the federation as yet, the IHF is free to appoint a new coach.

HOW THEY FELL

• Coach Cedric D’Souza axed in the middle of the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, C R Kumar given charge of the remaining five matches

• Kumar made way for Rajinder Singh after the latter won the junior World Cup for the first time ever, becoming the third coach within a month

• Rajinder himself was sent packing and Rach brought in, just two weeks from the Olympics during a test series in Germany earlier this year, weeks after Gill reaffirmed his faith in him to lead the Indian charge at Athens