Indian hockey coach Terry Walsh quits

Terry Walsh

Terry Walsh put in his papers on Tuesday after he could not reach an agreement with Hockey India (HI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) over his contract extension. Sources reveal that a fresh proposal will be chalked out for Walsh’s consideration. SAI and HI were not happy with the Australian’s demands for more say in team decisions and hand picking of support staff. It eventually led to Walsh submitting his resignation last month.

Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal met the coach on Tuesday and failed to broker a deal. Walsh flew back to Australia without withdrawing his resignation. However, the coach is still confident about the proposal meeting all his demands. There were reports in the media about an alleged feud between HI president Narinder Batra and Walsh. Batra had accused the Australian of "financial fraud" with USA hockey and did not want him to continue in his position.

A three-member team was formed to settle out differences with Walsh, but they failed to reach a conclusion. The panel comprising former hockey captains Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Kumar and Zafar Iqbal met Walsh, Hockey India Performance Director Roelant Oltmans and Sports Authority of India officials twice but could not come up with a solution to end the logjam.

Walsh has also asked for a 120 day paid leave during the year and that he will be available via video conference to players.