Former captain Dhanraj Pillay has expressed his desire to be the coach of the Indian hockey team and claims that if given a free hand he can deliver results in within a year.
Pillay is not in favour of a foreign coach for Indian hockey and insists that there is no dearth of good coach in the country.
‘Indian hockey does not need a foreign coach. We have been spending a lot of money on foreign coaches but from Gerhard Rach (in 2004 Athens) to Micheal Nobbs (2012 London Olympics), the outcome is the same. Indian hockey is back to square one and we are now struggling to qualify for the World Cup,’ Pillay said.
‘India has no dearth of talent as far as good coaches are concerned. Give me the charge and I promise to deliver results in one year provided I am given a free hand,’ said the legendary striker who is the coach of Air India, the current national champion side.
‘There are instances in the past when coach of the national championship winning side was given the charge of senior men’s team. There are many examples like Cedric D’souza, Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Rajinder Singh or Harendra Singh. Then why not me?’ The chief coach’s post of the Indian hockey team is presently lying vacant after the unceremonious exit of Micheal Nobbs recently. But Hockey India has already made it clear that they are looking for a foreign coach for the national side.