Sexual Harassment Case: Days after a top Indian woman cyclist leveled serious allegations of sexual harassment against national coach RK Sharma, a former star has complained that she was slapped twice by the former coach and assistant coach of the team. Not only this, he was made fun of and harassed. He was also accused of being lesbian (being in a gay relationship).
Current national champion and international gold medalist Deborah Harold of Andaman told The Indian Express in an interview that she was dropped from the national team, because RK Sharma’s assistant Gautamani Devi thought she (Deborah Harold) would want another women’s bicycle. Relationship with driver. However, it is not that Harold is the only one who has come out with new allegations against RK Sharma.
Two of the current members of the national team also told The Indian Express that they have informed the Sports Authority of India’s internal complaints committee that RK Sharma and Gautamani Devi have been continuously threatening and harassing them over the years. This is affecting their performance. The Internal Complaints Committee of the Sports Authority of India is the only one hearing the allegations of sexual harassment against RK Sharma.
When asked about the allegations, Gautamani Devi told The Indian Express that she only did what the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) had instructed her to do. CFI says Deborah Harold has never leveled any allegations against RK Sharma and Gautamani Devi in the past. The sports federation works according to its constitution and the law of the country. RK Sharma did not comment.
Deborah Harold has been a part of the Indian team since 2012. She is taking training from RK Sharma since 2014. He said he was left out of the team from the 2018 to 2019 national championships despite being the country’s fastest cyclist in the 200m sprint and 500m time trial events.
Deborah Harold said, ‘He (Gautmani Devi) thought I was in a relationship with another female cyclist, and harassed me a lot. They taunted me, ignored me and separated me from the rest of the cyclists. Eventually, I was kicked out of the national camp. Really, it was nothing like that…. We are just good friends.
Indian cyclist Deborah Harold. (Source- Facebook)
Harold, 27, said she was “shocked” to hear about the incidents reported in a complaint by a top cyclist to the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The top cyclist had alleged that RK Sharma forced her to stay in his room, offering a post-training massage. Tried to forcefully pull her towards him. Asked her to sleep with him during a camp in Slovenia in May.
Deborah Harold said that the atmosphere was bad because of RK Sharma. Because of this our cyclists were not able to perform to the best of their ability. According to Harold, he was stripped almost every day and told to stay away from other cyclists. “The assistant coach and the head coach harassed us mentally. I was so upset that my weight started falling because I was not taking proper diet….
Deborah Harold said, ‘If I had spoken to any fellow man, man or woman, I would have been stopped. Incidentally, if I bumped into someone in the dining room, I would be yelled at. Such was the situation that for a few days I started eating (alone) in my hostel room. I was singled out and harassed through no fault of mine.
Harold told that he had no problem with RK Sharma as a coach in the initial few years. According to him, the first incident happened in 2015. Then RK Sharma allegedly slapped him. He told, ‘The AC of my hostel room was not working. So, I went to the room of another boy from Andaman.’
Harold said, ‘That boy’s room was just above mine. Sir, when he came to know, he slapped me twice. I didn’t think much about it then and neither do I think about it much now. Whatever happened, happened. Harold claimed that the atmosphere in the team got worse after Gautamani’s arrival.
Harold said that the assistant coach misunderstood his friendship with another cyclist from Andaman, but that was not the case. She was also from Andaman so naturally we had a good bonding.
“I shared my experiences with him, trained together,” Harold said. Dreamed of winning a medal for India. Hope to participate in the Olympics together. With time our friendship grew stronger. But madam was thinking about us from a different angle.
Deborah Harold is hopeful that RK Sharma can return to the national team after his withdrawal. (source – file photo)
According to Harold, ‘Gautmani Devi taunted him and made lewd comments. Even RK Sharma started troubling me mentally. The coaches used rude and abusive language during training. Personal comments were made on our friendship. Harold said, ‘We did not pay attention to what he said, because there was nothing like this between us. Who were they to pry and comment on our personal lives on the basis of their thinking?’