New Delhi: A day after his dramatic announcement to quit, India's chief hockey coach Terry Walsh today withdrew his resignation after a meeting with top sports officials, who have assured the Australian that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh contract.
After a hectic meeting with the Sports Ministry and SAI officials, the 60-year-old Walsh finally decided to withdraw his resignation, much to the relief of the country's hockey fraternity.
Read: Terry Walsh resigns as India's hockey coach
The DG of Sports Authority of India, Jiji Thomson said that the concerns he(Terry Walsh)raised have been discussed and amicably settled.
Concerns he(Terry Walsh)raised hv been discussed & amicably settled,we will be revising contract: Jiji Thomson,DG SAI pic.twitter.com/28lRXZS653
— ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2014Terry Walsh also expressed his willingness to continue as India coach saying we are trying to come up with a better solution.
Discussions have been clear & concise,we are trying to come up with a better solution : Terry Walsh pic.twitter.com/0rrwO0Q2e8
— ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2014Walsh's withdrawal of the resignation was announced by the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who tweeted,
I am happy that after SAI's efforts #TerryWalsh is back. Looking ahead for a bright future for hockey in India
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) October 22, 2014After a high-drama exit of Indian men's hockey team chief coach Terry Walsh, who resigned following a "pay dispute" with the Sports Authority of India, Jiji Thomson had assured that the matter would be "resolved" as they want the veteran Australian to continue.
SAI DG said he had met Walsh at his office on Tuesday and tried to convince the Australian to carry on in his post. "I met him (Walsh) when he came to SAI. He told me that he doesn't have any issues with SAI. The matter will be resolved. We want him to continue in his position," Thomson told PTI.
Even Walsh had hinted that he was ready to reconsider his decision if he was given a new contract on his terms and conditions by the SAI.
"There is obviously fatigue factor but I feel I just need to move away from the contents of what presently exists in my contractual arrangements. We are now looking at the possibility of how that can be reset," Walsh said.
"We are right now in a position of re-negotiations and see how it may or may not turnout. Let's see what happens. We have got a month to solve that," he added.
SAI Director General Jiji Thomson said that issues raised by Walsh will be addressed in a fresh contract, which will be offered to him before his current contract expire on November 19.
"Since we never accepted his resignation, the question of its withdrawal does not arise. As per his contract, Walsh had to give us a month's notice period which he gave today," Thomson told PTI.
"We had a fruitful meeting with him today. The issues which he had raised can easily be solved and we have assured him that they will be solved before his contract expires on November 19. We will issue him a new contract, which will take into consideration all his demands," he said.
Asked whether Walsh, who had guided the Indian team to a historic gold at Incheon Asian Games, will continue to be India's chief coach, Thomson said: "Yes, there is no question about it. He will continue in his role with the team."
Walsh and some other support staff had issues with the government over TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) in their salaries.
Thomson though had denied that there were any issues over TDS and said the problem was created by HI president Narinder Batra.
He dismissed the issue as "canards" on the part of Batra.
The SAI DG said "sporting bureaucracy" mentioned by Walsh could also be Hockey India. Surprised at Walsh's sudden resignation, Sonowal had sought a report on the issue from SAI and his own secretary within 24 hours.
