Hockey Olympian Gurbux Singh on Friday termed India's hockey consultant Ric Charlesworth's decision to resign as 'unfortunate' and called for sorting out the problem through discussion.

"This is very unfortunate. Who is responsible, I don't know. It may be due to some ego problem on someone's part," Gurbux said.

Gurbux, a member of the gold winning Indian team in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, said it will be a case of lost opportunity for the country if Charlesworth did not agree to change his decision. "Here is a person who knows modern international hockey in and out. We should have used him well".

The former national selector said former national coach Joachim Carvallo also had a ego problem with Aussie Charlesworth.

"They did not want him to be involved with the team for the Olympic qualifiers. And probably Charlesworth also resented the way he was having to take orders from three authorities - Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the union sports ministry," Gurbux added.

"I hope the issue can still be sorted out. Let the Indian Olympic Association sit with Charlesworth. His services should be utilised."

Before leaving Hyderabad, where he was to assess the performance of the Indian players in the Junior Asia Cup, Charlesworth told the media that he was frustrated at the way the hockey administration ran the sport in the country.

Citing reasons for his quitting, Charlesworth stated that he was frustrated with the way things were handled in Indian hockey. He also said that he was mischievously not allowed to be a part of the men's Olympic qualifiers by the IHF and the SAI.