Sport - Hockey

Give Charlesworth his due and benefit from it

CHENNAI: Amidst the rhetoric, recriminations, war of words and appalling polemics that degenerated into tragic character assassinations, a silver lining is the emerging consensus on Ric Charlesworth.

It is a pity that an outstanding coach as the Aussie should have been subject of such a debate over his assigned role to shaping Indian hockey.

None of the 15-odd coaches, who managed the national squads in the last decade and a half, has a fraction of the expertise and experience of the stalwart Australian.

In fact, the hockey fraternity here should have received the offer of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to lend the services of Ric Charlesworth with a sense of glee.

Charlesworth has the credentials.

He has shown results both as a player and coach and enjoys the confidence and regard of the world community.

More importantly, he is genuinely passionate and yearning to be part of the system to arrest India’s decay over the years.

It is difficult to fathom the IHF’s reluctance to give the Aussie his due and benefit from it.

The anathema of having a foreign coach, viewed by many as repugnant to the history and tradition of our hockey structure, has long been cast aside thanks to the incomprehensible choice of Gerhard Rach before the Athens Olympics.

Despicable was the move to limit Charlesworth’s role to junior and women’s teams.

The international community, including the FIH, does not bother much about the image of juniors, or even what the women do in big competitions.

Charlesworth’s disappointment over the moves to keep him away from the men’s team is genuine. Any coach with the stature of Charlesworth would have reacted in the same way.

When Pakistan invited Hans Jorritsma and Roelant Oltmans, there was no talk of the coaches being attached to the junior training. In fact, their roles were all embracing, with focus riveted on the men’s team.

Enough has been written and spoken for and against Charlesworth’s appointment by the FIH, and the acceptance of the same by the Sports Ministry.

More than once Mr. K. P. S. Gill, the IHF President, has said that India could not afford high profile coaches because of the expenditure involved in hiring them.

Now that the FIH and Ministry share the costs, what is IHF’s inhibition in going ahead with this?

It is time the quibbling stopped and a fresh start put into action. The IHF should now look to inducting competent and committed supporting staff with unshakable faith in the chief coach and his work ethic.

The arrangement must not be disturbed at least for two years, till the World Cup 2010.

The best way for Charlesworth to begin is to assess the quality and content of players who donned the India colours in the last five years or so.

Several were cast aside without justification by the coaches, who had their own logic.

Players like Sandeep Singh, Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Micheal, V. Raja — to name a few, or any other within the age limit of 27, can be called for three-day selection trials.

They can rope in around 50 players.

While everyone acknowledges the genius of Charlesworth, concern is expressed over his penchant for talking to the media.

So frequent and so numerous have been his interviews and views that some of them amounted to castigating the system in which he has to work.

Whatever the shortcomings and flaws, he must reconcile to be part of it than giving the impression of needling the management at every turn.

Media support, contrived or stage-managed, cannot help beyond a point.

Charlesworth needs to be advised either by the FIH, or the Project Director, Bob Davidzon, or even the Sports Ministry, to be more restrained in this regard.

After all, Charlesworth must understand that if the system has been perfect or professional his presence and the FIH-IOC’s special interest would have been reckoned as unsolicited interference.

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