Jagbir likely coach for Azlan Shah

NEW DELHI: The Indian hockey chief coach for the Azlan Shah hockey tournament in May will be announced in a couple of days. Though the Indian Hockey Federation said on Tuesday that it is yet to finalise the candidate for the top post, sources revealed that former Olympian Jagbir Singh, who was assistant coach to the controversial foreign coach, Gerhard Rach, is likely to be appointed.However IHF chief KPS Gill avoided a direct answer. He said that the issue was still being discussed. "We'll be announcing it in the next couple of days," the IHF president told TOI on Tuesday. He declined that the IHF had already finalised Jagbir, who had led the team for a Test series with minnows France after Rach's departure. "No, we haven't finalised any name," Gill said. But the new appointee will be the in-charge for just one tournament. Gill had had told this paper earlier that they would appoint an Indian coach for the Malaysian assignment and were in the process of considering foreign option for the long term. But the IHF cannot afford any further delay if they want the team to perform in the forthcoming tournaments. After the Azlan Shah, India will participate in the mini World Cup in Holland in August and will host the Champions Trophy at Chennai in December. But Gill said on Tuesday, "The matter is still being looked into."