Indian Hockey Federation appears heading towards fresh controversy, with some selectors and a top functionary threatening to quit the rift-ridden sports body if current coach Rajinder Singh is not shown the door immediately.

The call for Rajinder's head comes in the wake of the team's dismal sixth place finish in the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne.

"A few selectors and an important IHF functionary have decided to put in their papers to protest against president K P S Gill's continued patronage of coach Rajinder Singh," sources in the Federation said.

"They have been consistently demanding that Rajinder be sacked for the team's poor performances, but Gill has been in favour of retaining Rajinder and that's the problem," they added.

- Also read: Year to forget for Indian hockey

Ever since Rajinder Singh Junior took over from German Gerhard Rach in April last year, the Indian team has failed to deliver the goods.

In the first tournament under Rajinder, the Azlan Shah in Malaysia  last May, India ended up fifth among seven teams. That came another lackluster performance in eight-nation Rabo Bank Trophy.

Last December, the Indian team finished with the wooden spoon at the six-nation Champions Trophy in Chennai and lost the recent hockey series to Pakistan 1-3.

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