Ex-goalie Negi ready to coach India's women's hockey team

Mumbai, July 22 (ANI): Mir Ranjan Negi, a former goal keeping coach of India's women's hockey team, is ready to take on the responsibility again after current coach M K Kaushik quit.

Talking to media persons in Mumbai, Negi said :

"As a coach, the nation's prestige is in your hands. And there is no compromise for that. I think it is a very challenging assignment right now, when hockey is going through such a tough phase. But I think if I am given the responsibility, I will live up to it."

Negi was the goalkeeper of the national squad till 1982. He said he could not believe the allegations hurled against Kaushik.

"Be it men's hockey or women's hockey, the game of hockey is going through a very bad phase. And incidents like this, reduces the morale of the players. And, it is true that hockey has been disgraced," added Negi.

Meanwhile, former goalkeeper and captain of the women's team, Helen Mary said that even though Kaushik was a great coach he would use foul language with the players.

"When I was there in the team, he (M K Kaushik) was very happy with the manager so he was not concerned about us. But he used to act very rudely with the players because she used to pin point the players, that she talks to him or they talk to the media. So he used to talk to us very harshly. When they came to know about Anurita, about all this, they removed her. Then all this started happening with the girls. Then the girls came out and all this nonsense came out. But this was happening before also," recalled Mary.

On his part, Kaushik has dismissed the allegations by contending he was being framed in a sinister conspiracy.

Hockey India (HI) has set up a high-level committee comprising experts and former players to probe the matter.

The committee comprises of former hockey captains Zafar Iqbal and Ajit Pal Singh along with Sudarshan Pathak and Rajiv Mehta. By Anand Srivastava (ANI)