At a selection committee meeting chaired by IOA secretary general Randhir Singh, the decision to appoint MK Kaushik as the chief coach of the national team was taken. Kaushik returns to the post after a 10-year gap.

While no official announcement was made, Kaushik confirmed that he has been informed about the decision. “Yes, I was called in the evening (after the meeting got over) and told about the decision,” he said. “But the official announcement will be made only later.”

Kaushik was at the helm when India won the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. Immediately after that, he and seven senior players were unceremoniously sacked by KPS Gill. For the past several years, Kaushik has been with the senior women’s team.

Asked if he was willing to take on the responsibility again, Kaushik said he was willing provided he had the necessary clearance from his department (the Haryana government sports board).

“For almost two years, I have not been working properly with the women’s team either. Now, the Sports Authority of India have written to my department and agreed to take me on deputation till 2010, allowing me to work full time with the team,” he said.

It has also been decided that former junior coach Harendra Singh will assist Kaushik while AB Subbiah will be the goalkeeping coach. Subbiah had earlier worked with Kaushik during his stint with the women’s team.

Kaushik’s appointment means AK Bansal, who had been in charge of the team since Joaquim Carvalho quit after the Chile Olympic qualifiers in March this year, will be shunted back to the junior team. Bansal had managed to come up with good results with the team, finishing runners-up in the Azlan Shah tournament and winning the junior Asia Cup recently. “No one is questioning Bansal’s calibre,” said a member of the selection committee. “But we felt that Kaushik has more experience at the senior level.

“We have just one year to prepare for three big tournaments — the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games (all to be held in 2010, the first two in India). So we needed someone someone respected by all.”

The selection committee also finalised the list of 48 probables that would form the core of the Indian team till 2010. The list will be made official after being approved by the IOA ad-hoc committee and the sports ministry.

Gill to hold ‘AGM’ today

KPS Gill is going ahead with the Annual General Meeting of the suspended IHF here on Wednesday. With the IHF suspended, the IOA-constituted ad-hoc committee has been given legal sanction to conduct the affairs of the game. “Gill can have any number of meetings he wants, but he cannot call them the AGM. He has not been provided any relief by the courts, how can a suspended body hold its AGM,” questioned ad-hoc committee convenor Mohammad Aslam Khan.

However, with elections to Hockey India — the joint men’s and women’s body that will replace the IHF — likely to be held by year-end, this could end up being a show of strength for Gill and his supporters.