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Denied Games accreditation, upset archery chief coach Baek returning to India
The reputed Korean coach who has lifted Indian archery says he felt ‘insulted’ and wants to end his contract with India
New Delhi: Upset at not being given accreditation to be part of the Indian archery team at the Paris Olympics, its renowned South Korean chief coach Baek Woong Ki said on Saturday that he felt “humiliated and insulted” and wanted to end his tenure with India.
To make matters worse, Baek, who reached Paris with the Indian team after overseeing preparation in Marseille, was called back to India on Saturday by the Archery Association of India (AAI) after it failed to arrange accreditation for him at the Games Village.
The Korean coach was staying in a Paris hotel awaiting his Games accreditation while AAI was talking to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to find a way to accommodate him in the contingent.
Baek, who guided archery giants South Korea to two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics, is learnt to have told AAI that it was “humiliating and insulting” to be treated this way by officials.
His contract with the Indian team expires after the Paris Olympics on August 30. “I do not want to continue anymore. I just want to go back to South Korea,” he told HT from Paris.
“I have been preparing with the goal of helping India win a medal for the first time at the Paris Olympics. However, I believe that appointing a foreign coach but excluding (me) from the Olympic Games archery coach is a big mistake by the IOA and a decision that does not follow the original plan and goals,” he said.
“Paris Olympics is India’s best chance to win a medal in archery. It is very unfortunate that I cannot be with the team right now. I can only send messages to the team and I have told them what all they should be doing during the tournament. I hope the Indian archers win a medal at the Olympics,” he said.
The Korean coach said he should have been the first coach on board.
“We have been training hard to win a medal but at a very important stage (Olympics), I am not appointed coach, why?” he asked.
After 2012, this is the first time both the Indian men’s and women’s archery teams have qualified for the Olympics. They will be competing in all the five events. Baek, who has been in charge of the team for more than a year – he is contracted by AAI and funded by Sports Authority of India (SAI) – has played a key role in shaping this team.
At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the recurve archers bagged the men’s and women’s team silver medals, ending a 13-year medal drought. The men’s team of Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav and Dhiraj Bommadevara has risen to No.2 in world rankings. They stunned reigning Olympic champions South Korea at the World Cup in Shanghai, winning gold after 14 years. The women’s team won bronze in the Hangzhou Games.
The women’s team comprises seasoned Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhagat. The competition starts on August 2 with the ranking rounds for all five events. The team was training in Marseille. India competing in all events makes Baek’s presence even more important.
AAI had sent a list of four coaches and two support staff members to guide the squad of six archers. However, two Indian coaches Sonam T Shering Bhutia (for men) and Purnima Mahato (for women), besides physio Arvind Yadav and psychologist Gayatri Aditya Madkekar, were cleared by IOA and the union sports ministry. The two Indian coaches have been given accreditation to stay in the Games Village while the support staff will get ‘P category’ cards and stay in a hotel.
AAI to be blamed for mess?
It was learnt that IOA had told the federation that only four support staff members could be accommodated. “The head coach’s name was given as fifth member of the support staff and it was removed. Even when he did not get accreditation, he was sent for the pre-Olympics camp in France, knowing well that his name is not in the list,” said people aware of the development.
HT reported on Thursday that Baek’s name has been removed. An AAI official said it has reached out to IOA officials, but no solution was found. AAI secretary general Virender Sachdeva and other top officials did not respond to calls.
IOA has cleared a jumbo 256-member Indian contingent with several personal coaches and support staff in many disciplines like wrestling, table tennis and badminton in it. There are 68 coaches and 50 support staff for 117 athletes.
