In a sudden development, the Indian Hockey Federation has made Rajinder Singh the chief coach in place of Harendra Singh for the four-nation tournament in Gifu, Japan, starting on May 13.
Harendra, who was named as the chief coach for the meet by IHF chief K P S Gill just a few days back, would accompany the 18-member 'experimental' team as a coach along with Clarence Lobo, IHF sources told PTI in Delhi on Wednesday.
Rajinder Singh was earlier scheduled to accompany twelve probables to Barog in Himachal Pradesh for a 15-day camp. The camp, scheduled to start on May 10, has now been delayed by three days and would now begin from May 13.
"The decision was taken after considering the fact that some of the players in the Japan meet could be picked for the Olympics. So being the chief coach of the main team, we thought Rajinder should go there," the sources said.
Harendra, who has an impressive record as a junior coach, had coached the national side in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia where Rajinder had accompanied the team as an observer.
"This is a technical decision. So nothing should be read into it," the sources added.
