Hima Das’ Coach Nipon Das Faces Sexual Assault Charges; Four Instances in Sports History Show Plight of Female Athletes in India
This story goes on to show a lot needs to be done for our female athletes who already under pressure to perform also face this grave injustice.
The memories of Hima Das winning the junior world title is still fresh in the minds of everyone, but the man, Nipon Das, who coached her to the triumph is facing sexual assault charges by a junior athlete in Assam. If the win for Das had brought a rare high for India that glorified its sporting fraternity, this latest blot now seems to push it back to its gory past.
Nipon Das, the man at the centre of the controversy, was granted bail by the court and now a full-scale investigation against him is currently underway. While the family of the victim have pressed several charges under various sections of the IPC against the coach, he has pleaded innocence and assured full co-operation from his end in the case. The sports authorities back in Assam have confirmed the developments but refused to divulge more details.
This is not the first time a coach has been accused of outraging the modesty of his students. There have been several instances in the past that has shamed the nation. We present to you some of the most high profile cases of sportswoman reporting sexual harassment.
Asian Games Gymnast Coach (2014): Delhi Police booked an international gymnast and a gymnastics coach for passing vulgar comments and making obscene gestures towards a woman player.
The incident was brought to light after a trainee-level gymnast brought it to the police attention about the ordeal she suffered during one of the practice sessions. The duo had left for the Asian Games by the time the whole matter came in public domain but had to face the police investigation.
Women’s Hockey coach (2010): An explosive mail by a hockey player Ranjitha Devi to the hockey federation led to the sacking of Arjuna awardee coach Maharaj Krishna Kaushik. As per the mail, Kaushik would ask for sexual favours from the team members and those not ceding to his demands could not find a place in the team.
After investigations were carried out by the federations, the coach was asked to step down from his position, but he continues to find himself associated with hockey in one form or the other just highlighting how seriously our federations take up the matter.
ACA Secretary (2009): Women cricketer from Andhra accused their association's secretary who also happened to be Team India’s manager of sexual misconduct in return for a place in the team.
V Chamundeshwarnath would also misbehave with women players in training camps and things to a turn for the worse when former Ranji player, Durga Bhavani allegedly committed suicide under intense pressure after filing a case against the accused. He was found guilty in the ADGP’s report but now is in the news these days for gifting high profile cars to badminton stars.
Boxing coach (2009): Tired of continuous harassment by her coach, a young boxer ended her life by consuming poison at Hyderabad's Lala Bahadur Stadium.
S Amaravathi was quite a sensation at the junior national level having bagged medals at the Southern India Women Boxing Championship in 2004. The inquiry commission looking into the whole incident ruled out foul play and concluded she took her own life due to personal issues.
This story goes on to show a lot needs to be done for our female athletes who already under pressure to perform also face this grave injustice. The authorities need to actively run campaigns and keep checks so that this menace is removed from our sporting world.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2018 11:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).