India's junior women's hockey team without a chief coach?

NEW DELHI: Though the junior Indian hockey teams are yet to be summoned for national camps, it has been learnt that the junior women could be without a chief coach now after Baljeet Singh Saini and Hockey India (HI) had a difference of opinion over the issue of his salary.
According to sources, the issue apparently cropped up when Saini received his US Green Card and moved to California permanently.It has been learnt that the 1998 Asian Games gold medallist wants to continue as the team's chief coach, but on a salary which is at par with the foreign coaches employed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
"He hasn't left the team but wants his salary to now be equal, if not more, to that of a foreign coach because he lives in the US," said a source. "He has communicated that to Hockey India but he hasn't received any response yet, while his name as coach has been removed from the page of junior women's team on the Hockey India website".
So, as things stand technically, the team seems to be without a chief coach at the moment.
During his time as national coach before the coronavirus pandemic struck, Saini had been shuttling between his two bases, as his family was in Fresno; but he has now decided to settle down in the US.
Interestingly, in July this year, the Sports Ministry removed the salary cap of Rs 2 lakh for Indian coaches to bridge the gap between them and their foreign counterparts, while also extending the contracts of all coaches until September next year.
While the SAI statement on the announcement said that the remuneration will be decided on the basis of the ex-elite athlete’s performance as an athlete as well as his or her success as a coach, Saini, sources said, is looking for a salary at par with the foreign coaches employed by SAI because he has now moved to the US permanently, holds a Green Card and needs to take care of his expenses as per the US standards.
(A photo-grab from the junior women's team page on the Hockey India website)
A US Green Card holder is a permanent resident of the USA, but without a US passport. Saini, a two-time Olympian, was employed with the Punjab & Sind Bank before moving to the US.
"The salary cap of Rs 2 lakh for Indian coaches has been removed. So they (SAI) may pay Indian coaches more, but that may still not be at par with the foreigners," sources close to the development added.
Hockey India refused to comment on the matter.
The last camp of the junior women's team at the start of this year was undertaken by Erik Wonink, who is officially the analytical coach.
Under Saini, the junior Indian women's team's major accomplishments include a silver medal at the Youth Olympics and winning the three-nations tournament in Australia last December.
Decisions related to salary of coaches are recommended by federations but the final call is taken by SAI, who is the original employer. However, all the national sports federations are derecognised at the moment after a Delhi High Court order over the issue of Sports Code adherence and that might further complicate matters, including salary negotiations.
The team's next assignment mentioned on the calendar on the Hockey India website is a tour of South Africa in December, but it is unlikely to get the green signal amid the pandemic. The 2021 Junior Women's World Cup is also scheduled to be held in South Africa.