New Delhi, May 7 : The Indian Hockey Federation may be in a mess but the selection committee and the newly-formed ad-hoc committee of the IOA has decided not to make things worse. In a meeting of the selection committee members and the ad-hoc committee in Delhi on Wednesday, it was decided not to take any counter-measures after coach Joaquim Carvalho returned home without informing anyone. “If others are trying to create problems and working at cross-purposes with us, we don’t think we should do the same,” said Aslam Sher Khan, chairman of the selection committee.

The IOA has, therefore, decided to continue with the players currently in Malaysia for the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, after discussing the same with coach AK Bansal. “We wanted to know whether the three players who returned were absolutely essential for the team. The coach has no problems with those that are already there and he is satisfied with the competitiveness of the present squad. Therefore, we have decided to take any action only after the tournament gets over,” Aslam said.

However, with both Carvalho and manager-designate RK Shetty returning home, the IOA has decided to send former Olympian and Punjab sports director Pargat Singh as the manager for the team with immediate effect. Pargat will leave late on Wednesday after due clearance from the government.

However, Aslam did indicate that Carvalho’s services as chief coach could well be terminated. “It is up to him. But after all that has happened, I think it is clear that he himself is not keen on continuing. But once the tournament is over, we will sit together to chalk a roadmap for the future of Indian hockey, and will take up the issue of having a long-term coach for the future,”Aslam added.

Carvalho has been at loggerheads with the selection committee and technical director Ric Charlesworth for long, even going to the extent of dismissing any need for their support. In fact, several members of the suspended IHF and team members were against his continuating as coach after India’s Olympic qualifiers debacle in Chile, and only KPS Gill had been supporting him as chief coach after that.

Asked if the decision to return without informing would reflect in any way on the three players as well, Aslam denied any such move. “We have been players and we know that players are often clueless about team management decisions. In this case, they simply did what they were told to do by the coach and the manager. That can, in no way, be held against them,” Aslam asserted.

Skipper Tushar Khandker, goalkeeper Baljeet Singh and Sameer Baxla returned home late on Tuesday. The committee has, therefore, consultation with the coach, designated Sardara Singh as captain for Azlan Shah.