Narinder Batra, President of Hockey India

Batra’s was far from a passionate outburst of a sports fan. According to some reports, he was livid at the prospect of sponsors backing out thanks to the poor performance. Ahead of the meeting of the governing bodies on 24 July, the hockey chief, upset at being told off, has reportedly pulled all stops to ensure the exit of what will be the team’s fifth foreign coach in five years.

The decision comes when there is only a year left for the 2016 Rio Olympics. But then, these precedents were set by Batra’s predecessor, KPS Gill, who suspended as many as 17 coaches during his 15-year tenure.