E-Paper
Sumit Antil, Neeraj Chopra accuse Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh of mental harassment: ‘Abused our families’
Neeraj Chopra and Sumit Antil accuse Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh of mental harassment and verbal abuse.
Paralympic gold-medallist Sumit Antil has made some damning allegations against Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh. The javelin thrower has accused the senior figure of mental harassment and verbal abuse in a complaint to the Sports Authority of India (SAI). It is worth noting that the allegations have also been seconded by Neeraj Chopra, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist.
Antil has also alleged that Naval is “probably mentally unstable” and is trying to disturb the peace of athletes like him and Neeraj. “He (Naval Singh) mentally harassed us and abused our, as in mine and Neeraj's, families. He seems mentally unstable. He would deliberately share recordings of his abusive rants with our (team) managers, so that they reach us,” Antil told news agency PTI.
The three-time world champion from 2023 to 2025 also stated that he has already sent his complaint to SAI, which Neeraj Chopra and fellow para-javelin throwers Navdeep Singh and Sandeep Chaudhary endorsed.
"It has been a week since we complained to D G SAI (Hari Ranjan Rao) and CEO TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme). TOPS CEO (N S Johal) wanted us to (make a) compromise in the first hearing. We ignored this matter for a long time, but decided to complain after it became too much. I filed the complaint, and Neeraj bhai, Navdeep Singh and Sandeep Chaudhary endorsed it," said Antil.
"The point is, if athletes of our stature are not heard, then what can others expect. The complaint has not even received an acknowledgement till now. And, I am unable to understand why this coach is doing what he is doing. Maybe he wants Sachin Yadav to beat Neeraj bhai because Sachin trains with him," he alleged.
Naval, who was conferred the Dronacharya award in 2015, is currently guiding Sachin Yadav, who finished fourth at the World Championships last year, besting Neeraj. An injury-stuck Neeraj had finished eighth at the event.
SAI acknowledges complaint
The SAI has acknowledged receipt of the complaint, but added that Naval is not its employee, as he is engaged with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to train "another leading athlete as part of National Coaching Camp".
"A complaint has been received from Sumit Antil, Paralympic Gold Medalist, alleging verbal abuse by Coach Mr Naval Singh. Other athletes, including Neeraj Chopra, have also supported the complaint," the source within SAI told PTI.
“The coach in question is not a SAI employee and is training another leading athlete as part of the National Coaching Camp organised by AFI,” the source added.
