I-League 2018: Khogen Singh leaves champions Minerva Punjab, Sachin Badadhe to take over

Minerva Punjab coach Khogen Singh has decided to leave the club after guiding them to their first I-League title. Sachin Badadhe, the assistant coach, will take over the reigns, Minerva owner Ranjit Bajaj confirmed to Sportskeeda.

"Khogen Singh was never going to be a part of Minerva Punjab for the upcoming season. Sachin (Badadhe), who is our assistant coach, is currently acquiring an A-licence and he will take over as the head coach. Vimal Arora will be the head of our youth development," Bajaj said.

Badadhe, who runs a tea shop on the side, has been with the Punjab-based club since 2017, a year after he became an AFC ‘B’ licenced coach. Initially, he was the looking U-18 head coach but after one impressive training session, Bajaj promoted Badadhe to assistant coach of the senior team.

"As for Khogen Singh, he has some offers where he will get a lot of money. So, obviously, he will not stay with us and we have no problem in letting him go," Bajaj said when asked why the former coach decided to leave.

Apparently, even after leading the club to silverware, Singh was not offered the profile of head coach and was instead asked to lead the youth development programme for the upcoming season. Currently, the Manipuri is working as a technical director in a football camp in his home state.

With their title win, Minerva Punjab qualified for the 2019 AFC Champions League preliminary play-off and are at least guaranteed a spot in the AFC Cup. For the Champions League play-off, it is necessary for the coach to have an AFC Pro Licence. Interestingly, while Singh did not have a Pro Licence, Badadhe is only acquiring his A-licence now.