Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Graham Reid and two other members of the support staff have resigned on Monday following their dismal show in the World Cup, which has been accepted by Hockey India.
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The Indian team, which won a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics under Reid’s coach, failed to make it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Odisha and finished ninth. In addition to Reid, analysis coach Greg Clark and scientific advisor Mitchell David Pemberton have also resigned. According to a statement released by Hockey India, Reid submitted his resignation to Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey. He submitted it a day after the World Cup was over. Tirkey and Hockey India general secretary Bholanath Singh met Reid and other support staff to discuss the team’s performance. All three will remain in the notice period for the next month.
“It is now time for me to step aside and hand over the reigns to the next management. It has been an honor and privilege to work with the team and Hockey India and I have enjoyed every moment of this epic journey. I wish the team all the very best.” Graham Reid said, announcing his retirement.
With Reid and his team, India won the Olympic bronze medal after 41 years. Apart from this, the team won silver in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and FIH Pro League 2021. They also secured the third position in 22 seasons. The Indian team won the FIH World Series Finals in 2019 when Reid was the coach. After this, he qualified for the Tokyo Games by winning the Olympic qualifiers in Bhubaneswar.
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Accepting the resignations of all three, including Reid, Hockey India President Tirkey said, “India will always have gratitude towards Graham Reid and his team of support staff who have brought good results to the country, particularly the Olympic Games. As all journeys move to different phases, it is now time for us to move on towards a new approach for our team.”
