White to take over as junior women’s hockey coach; HI undecided on renewing Sreejesh’s contract

Indian hockey is all set to get yet another foreign coach in its set-up, with Belgium junior women’s coach Tim White reportedly finalised for the junior Indian women’s side. White, who was also the head coach of the Tamil Nadu Dragons in the recently concluded Hockey India League, will replace Tushar Khandker.

Sources confirmed that White, whose most recent assignment with the Belgium side was the Junior Women’s World Cup in Chile, was cleared by the Sports Authority of India and is likely to take charge soon. His contract has been sent for formal acceptance. Belgium won bronze in Chile for its second consecutive third-place finish, and is currently ranked fourth in the world among juniors.

However, there is no official word yet on the junior men’s coach with Hockey India yet to decide on whether to renew P.R. Sreejesh’s contract. Sreejesh, who coached the Indian juniors to a World Cup bronze in December last year – India’s first in the competition since its 2016 triumph – is yet to be confirmed, with sources indicating that the federation was instead considering bringing in a foreign name for the role.

“We believe Sreejesh has potential but needs more experience, not just in terms of coaching but also in man-management. We expect a decision in the next couple of weeks,” a Hockey India official confirmed.

There have also been talks of moving Sreejesh to the development side, something the latter is unlikely to accept, given the uncertainty and lack of details around the very role and roadmap of such a team.