Foreign coaches cannot work with Indian bureaucracy, says MS Gill

Strongly rooting for a national trainer of Indian origin in all sports, former Sports Minister MS Gill on Tuesday professed no surprise over hockey coach Terry Walsh resigning from his post. Gill further suggested that foreign coaches cannot work with the decision making style of sporting bureaucracy in India.

"A marriage between a 'gora' coach and Indian rules will never work. The reason is very simple: they come from another society, where these kind of petty rules are not there," Gill told ANI.

The former sports minister further noted that such incidents were prevalent in other sports as well.

In a letter to Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Jiji Thomson on October 19 Terry Walsh reportedly resigned from his post as India's chief hockey coach citing reasons that he found it difficult to adjust with the decision making style of the sporting bureaucracy in the country.

"I hereby tender my resignation as the Chief Coach, Indian Men's Hockey Team, effective as per the details of my contract or as agreed to by all concerned parties," Walsh said.

"I am finding considerable difficulty adjusting to the decision making style of the sporting bureaucracy in India which I believe, in the long term, is not in the best interests of Indian Hockey or it's players," he added.

Thanking SAI for giving him an opportunity to work as head coach of the team, Walsh further said, "May I thank you for the honour and opportunity to have worked with an Indian National Program for the last twelve months. I wish the Sports Authority of India every success as it builds into and beyond the 2016 Olympic Games."

Under the 60-year-old Australian's guidance, the Indian men's hockey team won gold in the recently held Asian Games in Incheon, thereby qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.