It’s a decision the two-time Olympic captain had been mulling over. Finally, after a week of giving it some thought and knowing the way Indian hockey works, Pargat Singh, has thrown his stick into the ring. The burly Sardar, one of the best defenders this country has seen has agreed to join in as Chairman of the Technical Committee, Hockey India. In other words, he decides the path that Indian hockey would take and next month also decide on who will be the new Indian coach. Amitesh Srivastav interviewed him after Pargat’s meeting with Hockey India.

Excerpts from the interview:

Pargat Singh:
The challenges are very big. In our country there is no coaching structure. We have limited resources. No work has been done at the sub junior level. These are the big issues that we have to work on. As I said, the challenges are very big.

Pargat:
We will make an annual calendar. Enough space will be given to the league, domestic tournaments and international exposure.

Pargat:
We will definitely look after the player facilities. Will try to run it like a company. It will be like  focusing on production, the financial parts. Like a good production unit, we will focus on providing the best stuff.”

Pargat:
Some names have come in for the appointment of the coach. Today we will discuss but we are waiting for more names to come in our next meeting on Jan 5th. In that meeting we can only decide who is best for the job. We also need to understand the view point of the player. Everything will be discussed in that meeting. The Olympic Qualifying is our long term goal right now. So by next month we have to decide who should be the coach.
 
Pargat:
We have discussed the coach today but will decide later and also think of who suits us best – a foreigner or an Indian.

Pargat:
One thing is for sure - our plans will be long term - Olympic to Olympic. But for the junior and sub junior it will be from World Cup to World Cup.

Pargat:
There is so much work to be done and there are no shortcuts. Only if we work long-term will the results.