Sukhwinder Singh

New Delhi: Sukhwinder Singh on Thursday resigned as the chief coach of JCT Phagwara after being at the helm of the affairs of the Punjab team for 17 years.

Considered by many as the shrewdest tactician in Indian football, the 61-year-old coach ended his 30-year association with JCT after being appointed the national coach for the SAFF Cup, the AFC Challenge Cup and the Asian Games.

Former India captain Parminder Singh is likely to take over as the JCT coach from early next month.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to send their under-23 squad for all these three tournaments and Sukhwinder has almost been handpicked by the national coach Bob Houghton to train the Indian juniors for the next one year.

Asked why he left the JCT in the middle of the season, Sukhwinder said: “I had no choice. The AIFF has given me the most challenging job to regain the SAFF title. Since the tournament is in December, I need to start the camp from November 15. No way could I have continued as the JCT coach.

“To leave the JCT was the most painful decision in my life. I have earned all my name and fame both as a player and a coach because of JCT. The JCT boss and Punjab Football Association (PFA) president Samir Thapar put massive faith on me all these years and remained solidly behind during all ups and downs in the last 17 years,” recalled the genial coach.

Under Sukhwinder, JCT have won every major title in Indian football including the inaugural National Football League (NFL) in the 1996-97 season. Once known as a team which only does well in Delhi tournaments, JCT won IFA Shield, Rovers Cup, Scissors Cup and the Federation Cup under Sukhwinder’s guidance.

The former India stopper back was appointed the national coach for the senior team twice before and produced sparkling results in the Asia Cup and the World Cup qualifiers in 2001, where India defeated United Arab Emirates (UAE) to record one of their most memorable wins in the recent past.

This time, Sukhwinder’s name was recommended for the under-23 team by Houghton during the last executive committee meeting of the AIFF as the British coach was highly impressed by JCT’s performance in the last couple of seasons.

“In 1999, I coached India to title in the SAFF Cup in Goa . This time too I would like to repeat my performance,” said Sukhwinder.