Sreejesh rails at Hockey India

P.R. Sreejesh’s dispute with Hockey India is not just a social-media flare-up. It is a fight over what job he was being asked to do, when his contract actually ended, and how the federation is structuring its pathway teams after a year in which he led the junior men’s side in major tournaments. Hockey India said this week that Sreejesh’s coaching term ended in December 2025 and that he was offered a development-team role instead. Sreejesh responded by asking where that development setup exists and why he was being moved after results with the junior side. ### What exactly did Hockey India say about Sreejesh’s exit? Hockey India said on May 13 that Sreejesh’s coaching term “was officially concluded as per contract in December 2025” and that the junior men’s position was then advertised and filled through a selection process. The federation said it had “in no terms ‘fired’ Sreejesh” and had instead offered him the role of coach of the development team, which it said would be important for Los Angeles 2028 and the next Olympic cycle. The federation also rejected Sreejesh’s claim that he had been pushed aside because of a preference for foreign coaches. Hockey India said “in no terms” had such a preference been conveyed to him and said it was working to develop Indian coaching talent as part of a pathway toward 2036. ### Why did the row erupt this week? Hockey India announced on May 14 that Frederic Soyez, a French coach, had been appointed coach of the Indian junior men’s hockey team. (firstpost.com) The federation said the appointment fit its long-term high-performance plans and linked it to India’s ambitions for the 2036 Olympic Games. That appointment came after Sreejesh had already been publicly identified by Hockey India as the junior men’s coach in 2024 and 2025. (firstpost.com) Hockey India’s October 6, 2024 announcement for the Sultan of Johor Cup described him as the newly appointed head coach, and an April 28, 2025 federation release congratulating him on the Padma Bhushan referred to him as the current coach of the Indian junior men’s team. (hockeyindia.org) ### What is Sreejesh challenging in Hockey India’s version? Sreejesh’s core challenge is to the substance of the alternative role. IANS reported on May 15 that he questioned where the development team is, asking what camps, tournaments or listed structure exist for that side. That question lands in a federation setup where Hockey India has recently publicized other age-group structures by name. (hockeyindia.org) On May 7, for example, Hockey India announced U-18 men’s and women’s squads for a four-match series against Australia in Bhopal from May 15 to 20, with Sardar Singh guiding the men’s sub-junior side and Rani mentoring the women’s side ahead of the U-18 Asia Cup in Japan from May 29 to June 6. (ianslive.in) ### What had Sreejesh done with the junior men’s team? Hockey India’s own releases show Sreejesh taking charge of the junior men’s team for the Sultan of Johor Cup in October 2024. The federation also named Birendra Lakra as assistant coach in May 2025 to work with Sreejesh on that team. At the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025, India opened with a 7-0 win over Chile on November 28 and a 17-0 win over Oman on November 29 before beating Switzerland 5-0 on December 2, according to Hockey India’s schedule and results page. (ianslive.in) Those results establish that Sreejesh had the team through the tournament cycle Hockey India now says ended with his contract in December 2025. (hockeyindia.org) ### Why does the dispute matter beyond one coaching change? The dispute matters because both sides are arguing over process, not just personality. Hockey India is saying there was a contract end date and a formal hiring process. Sreejesh is questioning whether the reassignment was to a defined, functioning program. The timing also puts the federation’s staffing choices under scrutiny. (hockeyindia.org) Frederic Soyez’s appointment is now official, and Hockey India has framed it as part of a long-term performance plan, while Sreejesh has used the moment to question how Indian former players are being placed inside that system. ### What happens next in the setup Hockey India has announced? (firstpost.com) Frederic Soyez is now the named coach of the Indian junior men’s team, according to Hockey India’s May 14 statement. The federation has also already scheduled the U-18 men’s and women’s Australia series in Bhopal from May 15 to 20, followed by the U-18 Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan, from May 29 to June 6. (hockeyindia.org)