Rach steps down as hockey coach

New Delhi:

Gerhard Rach has stepped down as the coach of the Indian hockey team. German-born Rach, whose future was hanging in balance following a string of poor performances by the team in various events including the Olympics and Champions Trophy, has taken up a new assignment with the national team of Egypt. The German whose future had been uncertain ever since India finished a dismal fourth at the Champions Trophy becomes the 10th coach that the IHF has either sacked or who has resigned in the last 10 years. Dismal performance

Rach's shaky tenure

Played: 28

Won: 10

Lost: 13

Draws: 5

Rach took over as coach in July 2004 just prior to the Athens Olympics and his five-month tenure was anything but a rousing success. Under him India played 28 games with a winning percentage of just around 36 per cent. And while assistant coach Jagbir Singh was given the reins of the team during the recently concluded test series against France, it is likely that the IHF will go in for a new coach. For the moment though, with no competitive hockey for the national team for at least six months, the Federation is concentrating on the PHL.