Indian junior women hockey team coach faces probe for ‘sexual misconduct’

The Union Sports Ministry has ordered an inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct against a coach associated with the Indian junior women’s hockey team. The move comes days before the team travels to Santiago, Chile, to compete in the 2025 FIH Hockey Junior World Cup beginning on December 1.

The alleged misconduct was reported during one of the three foreign tours the women’s team undertook to Argentina, Belgium and the Netherlands in June, and Australia in September. It is believed that a member of the women’s team was found to be visiting the room of the coach on a number of occasions.

Strict action, if guilty

We will wait for the report and then act. However, this department takes such cases very seriously. If someone is guilty, we will take strict action.

--- Sports Ministry official

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No formal complaint has been made so far either to the Ministry of Sports, Sports Authority of India or Hockey India (HI), the governing body for field hockey in India. But as India celebrated a hundred years of hockey some weeks ago, the hockey fraternity was agog with the story.

The issue was then brought to the notice of Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who has ordered an inquiry into this matter. “This grave matter was brought to our notice and that is why an inquiry has been ordered. As of now we do not want to jump the gun as we have to first find out the details,” a source in the Sports Ministry told The Tribune.

“We will wait for the report and then act. However, this department takes such cases very seriously. If someone is guilty, we will take strict action,” he added.

The name of the coach, the complainant as well as of the player in question cannot be revealed according to the law. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act warrants maintaining strict confidentiality regarding the identity of the complainant, the accused and witnesses.

Hockey India officials were taken aback when this correspondent reached out to its Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh. He said no complaint, either formal or informal, had been filed in this matter. “This is the first time I am hearing of such an issue. I cannot comment on something that has not been brought before Hockey India,” Singh told The Tribune.

“We will wait for the ministry report, although they (ministry officials) are yet to reach out to us on this sensitive issue,” he added.