New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) Maharaj Krishan Kaushik will be back as India's hockey coach ten years after he piloted the team to Asian Games gold medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. His name was finalised at the selection committee meeting of the ad hoc committee set up by the Indian Olympic Association here Tuesday. He will be in charge of the team till the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China.
The meeting, presided over by Ajitpal Singh and attended by all members -- Aslam Sher Khan, Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay -- also finalised a list of 48 probables for upcoming international events.
A formal announcement of Kaushik's appointment as well as the release of the list of probables will be made Wednesday after the ad hoc committee headed by IOA president Suresh Kalmadi ratified it.
A. K. Bansal, who was the coach of the team that finished runners-up at the Azlan Shah Cup tournament, was also considered but it was felt that he should not be disturbed as coach of the junior team preparing for the World Cup. He was the coach of the team that won the junior Asia Cup in Hyderabad in July.
The marathon six-hour meeting also believed to have approved the names of former internationals goalkeeper A B Subbaiah, defender Harinder Singh and and forward Ramandeep Singh as assistant coaches.
Kaushik told IANS that he had not been formally informed about his appointment, but he would be only too happy to be taking over as coach if offered to him. 'The job is not going to be new to me as I had the privilege of guiding the 1998 gold-medal-winning Asian games team. I will put in my best to see that the team does well in the two years I have to mould it.'
Kaushik is presently the coach of the Indian women's team.
