Athletics coach quits CWG camp

Veteran coach Harbans Singh has quit the national athletics preparatory camp for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, claiming that federation was adopting double standards for the foreign and Indian coaches.

Harbans, a former national coach, said it was difficult to work in the “hostile atmosphere” at the camp in Bangalore. “When the authorities don’t want to coordinate, it’s difficult to give a good performance,” he told The Sunday Express from Chandigarh.

Harbans, whose ward Paramjeet Singh broke Milkha Singh’s long standing record in the 400m race in 1999, was in-charge of the Indian team before he left for Australia in 2004. He agreed to join the preparatory camp last year after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) approached him.

He was shifted from training the men’s 400m team to the women’s 100m. However, the flashpoint came when one of the six female sprinters, HM Jyothi, was shifted to train under foreign expert Dimitri V.

“If the federation gives the Indian coaches free hand, we can prove better,” said Harbans, whose proposal to shift the camp from Bangalore was also turned down.

Meanwhile, chief national coach Bahadur Singh said Harbans quit due to personal problems and not because of AFI’s policies. “Harbans has mentioned in his resignation letter that he is giving up due to family problems. So, why talk about AFI wrong policy?” he asked.