Neeraj Chopra, Sumit Antil complain of harassment by Dronacharya awardee coach
New Delhi (PTI): Paralympic gold-medallist Sumit Antil, endorsed by Olympic superstar Neeraj Chopra, has accused Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh of mental harassment and verbal abuse in a complaint to the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
SAI acknowledged receiving the complaint but stated that Naval is not its employee and had been engaged by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to train "another leading athlete as part of National Coaching Camp".
Naval, who was bestowed the Dronacharya in 2015, is currently guiding Sachin Yadav, who had bested two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj at the World Championships last year by finishing fourth. An injury-struck Neeraj had ended 8th at the mega-event.
Antil, gold-medallist at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, also alleged that Naval is "probably mentally unstable" and attempting to disturb top athletes like him and Neeraj Chopra. Naval has also extensively worked with para-athletes.
"He (Naval Singh) mentally harassed us and abused our, as in mine and Neeraj's, families. He seems mentally unstable," Antil told PTI
One of India's strongest gold medal hopes in the F64 category (leg amputated) at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, Antil said, "He (Naval) would deliberately share recordings of his abusive rants with our (team) managers, so that they reach us."
In response, a SAI source said the matter is being duly taken up with the federation.
"A complaint has been received from Sumit Antil, Paralympic Gold Medalist, alleging verbal abuse by Coach Mr. Naval Singh. The complaint has also been supported by other athletes, including Neeraj Chopra," the source said,
"The coach in question is not a SAI employee and is training another leading athlete as part of National Coaching Camp organised by AFI."
The three-time world champion from 2023 to 2025, added that he sent his complaint to SAI and it was endorsed by Neeraj Chopra and fellow para-javelin throwers Navdeep Singh and Sandeep Chaudhary.
"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," he added.
He questioned the silence SAI's silence after the filing of the complaint.
"Point is if athletes of our stature are not heard then what can others expect. The complaint has not even got an acknowledgement till now," he said.
"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.
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Women’s Reservation Bill: K'taka CM accuses PM Modi of adopting 'double standard'
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of adopting a “double standard” on women’s reservation, alleging that the Centre had delayed implementation despite having the opportunity to act earlier.
Addressing reporters here, Siddaramaiah said the BJP and Modi had earlier opposed welfare guarantees and were now replicating them, while also questioning the timing and intent behind the women’s reservation move.
“That’s what I call double standards. Narendra Modi is not for social justice. If he was, this would have been done long ago. How many years has he been in power? It’s been 12 years. Why hasn’t it been done so far?” he asked.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the Congress had consistently supported women’s reservation and accused the Centre of "politicising" the issue.
“We spoke about women’s reservation. The Prime Minister asked me what our stand was. I said we are in favour of women’s reservation,” he said, referring to recent discussions with the PM.
He maintained that delimitation should only be carried out after a fresh Census to ensure equitable representation among states.
“In my view, delimitation should be done after a new census. That is why we opposed it. We have not opposed women’s reservation. We have always supported it,” he said.
Highlighting Congress’ past role, he said, “Who brought the 73rd and 74th amendments? Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress party. Those amendments ensured 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies. Why would we oppose it?”
Siddaramaiah further questioned the union government’s delay in implementation. “Narendra Modi indulged in politics and got it passed in 2023. Why didn’t he implement it immediately? Then why did he wait so long? He could have implemented it immediately. If he is committed to women’s reservation, he should have implemented it,” he said.
On the linkage between delimitation and reservation, he asked, “Why did the Centre link it with delimitation? Why did it go for a constitutional amendment?” adding that such a move could disadvantage southern states that have successfully controlled population growth.
“Southern states have controlled population well, but northern states haven’t. Naturally, it benefits them and disadvantages us,” he said.
Responding to BJP’s criticism that women would “teach Congress a lesson,” Siddaramaiah said, “They are doing politics. If Modi had brought this earlier, who would have opposed women’s reservation?”
On electoral prospects elsewhere, he said he had no direct information on Tamil Nadu but was optimistic about ruling DMK's victory.
"According to the information I have, DMK and its alliance are likely to win,” while asserting that Kerala would also be won by the opposition.
In a major setback to the BJP-led Central government, a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday, with the ruling dispensation asserting that the struggle to give the rights to women will continue.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
