Second Indian to summit: Sandeep Sangwan bags FIH Level 3 coach degree

CHENNAI: Sandeep Sangwan from Sonepat, Haryana, recently became only the second Indian coach to complete the FIH Academy’s Level 3 Course. The 42-year-old successfully passed the five-day course in Ipoh, Malaysia, on March 25.

As far as Indian coaches are concerned, only Harendra Singh, who was unceremoniously sacked following India’s quarterfinal ouster from the World Cup last year, has completed the course before. Hockey India, in its advertisement for the post of head coach following Harendra’s sacking, made FIH Level 3 certification mandatory for any aspirant rendering all Indian coaches ineligible.  

Only 49 coaches are registered with Hockey India at the moment. This includes 34 men and 15 women. Among them, only Harendra had undergone FIH Level 3 course before Sandeep managed to crack it this month. The dearth of certified coaches can be gauged from the fact that these 49 coaches are supposed to train 3,058 players (1,670 men and 1,388 women) registered with Hockey India across the country.

Several senior Indian coaches including 1980 Olympic gold medallist MK Kaushik and Dronacharya awardee AK Bansal gave the certification course a try but left it mid-way due to various reasons.

“The course is not that difficult and almost similar to coaching courses provided by NIS Patiala but it’s time-consuming and demands a lot of consistency and money,” one of the senior Indian coaches told this newspaper. “These courses offered by the FIH Academy focus more on technological aspects making them expensive and somehow less relevant as far Indian hockey is concerned,” the coach added.    

Sandeep, who represented the junior India team in the late nineties and attended several senior national camps, completed a diploma in coaching from NIS in 2005-06 before completing FIH Level 1 and 2 High-Performance Courses between 2011 and 2013. 

A coach-cum-selector with Haryana teams (senior and junior men’s teams and junior women’s team), Sandeep also captained the India team at the World Universities Championship in Sydney in 1999. Sandeep has also served as assistant coach and manager with the senior men’s hockey team in the recent past.

“The course demands consistency. Before formally undergoing the course, you’re asked to complete assignments and present them before the examiners during classes. The examiners also task you with various match situations and seek your analysis. They also make you analyse situations during live matches. We were taken to the ongoing Sultan Azlan Shah Cup matches for the purpose,” Sandeep said.

A midfielder during his playing days, Sandeep did not offer a clear-cut answer when asked why not many Indian coaches managed to complete the course. He instead preferred to focus on his coaching career which could witness a surge given that he is now only the second Indian to hold the certificate.

India thrash Poland 10-0

Ipoh: Striker Mandeep Singh scored a brace to help India thrash minnows Poland 10-0 in their last league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. India will face Korea in Saturday’s final.