The criticism states that Sharma allegedly instructed the bike owner that he “wants” her “to be his wife”. When she resisted, the criticism alleges, the coach threatened to destroy her profession by “removing her from the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE)”, and ensuring she would “sell vegetables on the road”.
According to the criticism, when the bike owner determined to stop the camp and return to India, Sharma referred to as her household and requested them to get her married as she didn’t have a future within the sport.
Sharma remains to be in Slovenia with the remainder of the Indian workforce on the coaching camp for the Asian Championships this month, and is scheduled to return on June 14. He didn’t reply to calls and messages from The Indian Express searching for his response to the allegations. The coach has been concerned with the nationwide workforce since 2014.
Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
The bike owner’s criticism was dropped at mild on Monday by SAI in a quick assertion, which mentioned she was “immediately” introduced again “to ensure her safety” — and {that a} panel has been set as much as “investigate the matter”, which “is being dealt (with) on priority”.
In a separate assertion on Monday, the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) recognized the complainant and the coach, mentioned it stands “with the complainant” and has fashioned a probe panel of its personal.
In the detailed criticism, the bike owner describes the coach’s conduct as “inappropriate, unlawful and objectionable”.
“I was scheduled to leave for the cycling training camp in Slovenia for the date 15th May 2022 to 14th June 2022,” the criticism states. “After all the logistical arrangements were made, to my sheer surprise and shock, three days before my scheduled travel date, I received a call from my coach Mr R K Sharma telling me that I have to share the room at Hotel Balnea in Slovenia with him alone,” it states.
The bike owner “entered a state of extreme panic and anxiousness” and had problem sleeping, which led her to hunt help from the sports activities psychologist connected to the biking NCOE, in response to the criticism.
“Since I had to catch the flight to Slovenia in a couple of days, I was left with almost no time to process the information provided to me by the coach,” the criticism states. “In my state of extreme confusion and anxiousness on losing the opportunity to train abroad and attend the camp, I thought I would reach Slovenia and try to request for alternate arrangements.”
Upon reaching the resort in Slovenia on May 16, the criticism states, the bike owner requested a separate room however Sharma allegedly responded in a “rude and dismissive manner” and instructed her that she ought to have “stayed back in India”.
“Subsequently, my request for a separate/different room was not paid heed to. I had no option but to be in the coach’s room, which was also originally designated to me. This is also shown in the hotel records,” the criticism states.
With the assistance of the workforce’s help workers, the criticism states, the difficulty was dropped at the discover of a senior SAI official “who immediately organised a separate room” for her.
According to the criticism, this transfer purportedly incensed Sharma, who allegedly threatened consistently to “destroy her career”.
“He regularly kept making threatening comments with regard to my career and told me that I will be removed from the cycling NCOE and he will make sure that I sell vegetables on the road. I continue to not have any words to describe the extreme mental agony, shock and fear that I continue to feel till this very moment,” the criticism states.
According to the criticism, Sharma allegedly invited the bike owner to his room on May 19 for a “post-training massage as he assumed that my body would be tight post-training” however she ignored the request. It states that on May 25, the bike owner was to journey to Germany for an occasion together with the boys’ workforce however Sharma allegedly didn’t take her alongside, claiming there was no spare room.
Consequently, the bike owner was compelled to remain again in Slovenia whereas the remainder of the workforce travelled to Germany, the criticism states.
“However, the worst was yet to come… On the 29th of May 2022, the coach returned from Germany early in the morning at approximately 7 am. I heard a knock on my door. Upon opening the door, I found, much to my horror, the coach physically forcing himself into my room. He then proceeded to lay on the bed. When I requested him to leave, he forcefully tried pulling me towards him and asked me to come and sleep with him,” the criticism states.
“In addition, he made comments such as — I should behave like his wife as he is extremely fond of me and wants me to be his wife,” it states.
“This incident spiralled me into a state of shock and panic. At this point, I was extremely scared for my safety, well-being, and life. I constantly requested him and pleaded with him to leave my room and made the excuse that I was getting late for training and had to get ready,” it states.
“After a few hours, I somehow managed to gather myself and my emotions and reported this incident to the sport psychologist,” it states.
According to the criticism, the bike owner “could not tolerate the advances and explicit sexual overtones” made by the coach, determined to go away the camp, and spoke to the CEO of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), Pushpendra Garg, who booked a ticket for June 3.
When contacted, Garg instructed The Indian Express: “After we got to know about the incident and that she was not comfortable, we immediately told her ‘we will get you back’. During the period, SAI officials and the athlete’s relationship manager were in touch with her.”
The bike owner’s criticism states that the coach “has destroyed me mentally and emotionally, which is now impacting my sporting performance”. It ends with a “humble request”: “take the strictest possible action against Mr R.K Sharma and not just ensure my safety but also the safety of all others around me, especially female athletes.”
