Female Indian Sailor Accuses Coach of Making Her 'Uncomfortable'

The Indian team is training in Germany and participated in the Sailing World Cup last week.

An Indian sailor has complained against her coach. Photo used for representation.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter) 

Days after a woman cyclist accused the national coach of sexual harassment during a training camp in Slovenia, a female sailor has complained to Sports Authority of India (SAI) against a coach for making her ‘uncomfortable’.

The team is currently training in Germany and participated in the Sailing World Cup only last week.

SAI confirmed the receipt of the complaint on Thursday, 9 June, in a statement.

"SAI has received a complaint from a female sailor who is currently in a foreign exposure camp in Germany. In her complaint the athlete has said that a coach accompanying the contingent is making her uncomfortable," the statement read.

The coach in question was appointed by the federation, the Yatching Association of India. The coach in question is a three-time Olympian and is a coach of the Indian Navy team.

SAI also confirmed that the athlete has brought the matter to the notice of the concerned federation on previous occasions. The latest complaint has been sent to all senior Sports Authority of India (SAI) and sports ministry officials.

"In her complaint the athlete has also stated that she has raised this issue with the federation a few times in the past but has not received any response and has hence written to SAI for intervention."

Sports Authority of India received the complaint and asked the federation to respond by Thursday itself.

"On receipt of the complaint SAI has asked for a report from the federation seeking clarification on when and how many times the athlete had complained to the federation and why no response was extended to her. SAI has sought this report from the Federation by the end of the day today."

SAI

The athlete, in her complaint to the authorities, wrote about how the coach had not been behaving well with her, which made her uncomfortable. She signed off the letter with, “Please help”, according to The Tribune.

SAI also clarified that the athlete had not complained about sexual harassment.

"SAI has reached out to the athlete and she has said that "mental pressure" is created by the coach in question during training, but did not sight any sexual harassment issues."