Harendra Singh removed as Indian men's hockey coach
New Delhi, Jan 9: Indian men's hockey coach Harendra Singh was Wednesday sacked from the position following a disappointing 2018 and offered the task of helming the junior squad by the national federation.
Constant chopping and changing of coaches is a frequent phenomenon in Indian hockey and Harendra, who was appointed in May, is the latest casualty.
"Though the year 2018 was very disappointing for the Indian Men's Hockey Team with results not going as expected, Hockey India (HI) believes investing in the junior program which will reap long-term benefits," HI said in a statement explaining the reasons behind Harendra's axing.
The Junior World Cup-winning coach took charge after India's medal-less showing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games but was unable to change the team's fortunes.
India were also below-par in the Asian Games in Indonesia, settling for a bronze after going into the tournament as the defending champions. They ended the year with a quarterfinal loss in the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
"Hockey India will shortly be advertising and will invite applications for the position of the Chief Coach of the Indian Men's Hockey Team which will be returning to training camp in February 2019 for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup scheduled to commence from 23 March 2019.
"In the interim, the team will be overseen by Hockey India High Performance Director, David John and current Analytical Coach, Chris Ciriello," the statement added.
The decision to reassign Harendra was taken by the HI High Performance and Development Committee on Monday with an aim to build a "strong base" ahead of the 2021 Junior World Cup and the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
The meeting was attended by Committee Chairman R P Singh, members including Olympians Harbinder Singh, B P Govinda and Syed Ali.
"The offer (of junior head coach) has been made to Harendra Singh for taking charge of the Junior Men's team commencing from the camp slated to start in March 2019," HI said.
Harendra took the junior team to the World Cup title in 2016. As women's chief coach, he had swapped places with Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne to join the men's squad ahead of the August-September Asian Games.
India's practice of firing coaches at regular intervals has been criticised by many experts of the game including legendary Australian captain and coach Ric Charlesworth.
Changes in the support staff were expected following India's quarter final loss to Belgium in the World Cup at home last month. The fifth-ranked Asian team was aiming to win its first World Cup medal since 1975.
"It is completely unprofessional from Hockey India. With less than two years to go for the Olympics, this is the last thing India needed. But seeing the trend (of changing coaches frequently) it is not a surprise anymore. You can't expect the team to win like this," former India captain Zafar Iqbal told PTI.
"Even Germany lost in the semi-finals but that doesn't mean their team was bad," said Iqbal.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
