National-level minor boxer alleges sexual harassment by woman coach

A woman coach with the Sports Authority of India’s National Boxing Academy in Rohtak has been accused of sexual harassment by a minor pugilist, who according to the FIR filed by her parents, has slipped into depression because of repeated “mental and physical abuse”.

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When reached for a comment, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) acknowledged receiving a complaint from the 17-year-old boxer about intimidation and incidents of slapping but denied being told about sexual harassment as alleged in the FIR.

Both the bodies said that their internal investigations did not find any evidence against the coach, who is continuing to play a leading role in conducting the national camp for junior and youth boxers at this point.

In her FIR lodged at a Rohtak police station, the victim has stated that the coach tried to forcibly remove her clothes once, slapped her on multiple occasions, threatened to ruin her career and called her a “person of bad character” in front of other boxers leading to her isolation.

SAI said it would assist in the investigations as and when required. “...we have not received copy of any such FIR as of now. A complaint was however lodged by a female Boxer of NBA Rohtak through email, on 24/4/25 in which she alleged Mental and Physical harassment by a female coach during an invitational boxing tournament held in Ireland from 25th March 2025 to 3rd April 2025. No allegation of sexual harassment was levelled in that complaint,” SAI Regional Centre (Sonepat) stated.

“A detailed inquiry was conducted in which statements of the complainant, the coach concerned, the fellow coaches and staff members and fellow athletes were taken and the allegations made could not be established. SAI is committed to ensuring clean sports and will extend any cooperation required during investigation based on the FIR, at any point of time,” it added.

The girl’s parents have stated that they are not satisfied with the BFI’s handling of the matter. Describing in detail the abuse she was allegedly subjected to, the victim’s parents said that during the tour of Ireland, the coach humiliated the boxer and went on to molest her as well.

However, SAI has said that during their investigation, none of the other boxers on the tour backed this assertion and maintained that no such incident took place in their presence.

The parents said they came to know of their child’s plight from one of her camp mates and rushed to Rohtak, where she finally broke down and narrated her ordeal.