Coach RK Sharma forced himself into my room, asked me to sleep with him: Cyclist tells SAI in her complaint

A top Indian cyclist has made some serious allegations against chief national team coach RK Sharma, accusing him of forcing himself into her room during a camp in Slovenia last month and asking her to 'sleep with him'. The Indian cyclist recently returned back to India from Slovenia after facing a horrific experience at the national team's camp in the country. In her complaint to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the cyclist has provided details of the incidents that unfolded at the camp and how coach Sharma told her to act 'as his wife' while also threatening her.

In a sad state of affairs for Indian sports, the past few weeks have already seen a couple of cases of female athletes complaining about their coaches' misbehaviour towards them. In the latest case that has now come to light, the cyclist alleged coach Sharma warned her about 'destroying her career' when she resisted his advances at the camp.

As per a report in theIndian Express, the cyclist emailed her complaint to the Sports Authority of India, sharing the details of her traumatic experience. She revealed she was told about sharing a single room with coach Sharma in Slovenia just a couple of days before leaving for the camp. It was coach Sharma himself, who informed the cyclist leaving her in a state of 'extreme confusion and anxiousness'.

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She claimed she hadto take help from the sports psychologist after facing extreme panic and finding it difficult to sleep. Upon landing in Slovenia, the cyclist's request for a separate room was first dismissed leaving her with no option but to share a room with the coach before she managed to get a separate room for her through the help of her team's support staff and a senior official at SAI.

“I was scheduled to leave for the cycling training camp in Slovenia for the date 15th May 2022 to 14th June 2022,” the complaint states. “After all the logistical arrangements were made, to my sheer surprise and shock, three days before my scheduled travel date, I received a call from my coach Mr R K Sharma telling me that I have to share the room at Hotel Balnea in Slovenia with him alone,” the cyclist said in her complaint, as per Indian Express.

“Since I had to catch the flight to Slovenia in a couple of days, I was left with almost no time to process the information provided to me by the coach,” the complaint states. “In my state of extreme confusion and anxiousness on losing the opportunity to train abroad and attend the camp, I thought I would reach Slovenia and try to request for alternate arrangements.

“Subsequently, my request for a separate/different room was not paid heed to. I had no option but to be in the coach’s room, which was also originally designated to me. This is also shown in the hotel records,” she added.

When she requested for a separate room, Sharma allegedly responded to her in 'rude and dismissive manner' and said she should have stayed back in India instead. The cyclist later managed to get a separate room at the team hotel after the matter came to the notice of a senior official at SAI.

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She further revealed coach Sharma threatened her that he will remove her from cycling NCOE and that he will make sure she has to sell vegetables back home after her career is destroyed. The cyclist claimed the constant threats from the coach left her with extreme mental agony, shock and fear.

“He regularly kept making threatening comments with regard to my career and told me that I will be removed from the cycling NCOE and he will make sure that I sell vegetables on the road. I continue to not have any words to describe the extreme mental agony, shock and fear that I continue to feel till this very moment,” she said in her complaint to SAI.

The cyclist then opened up on the day when Sharma tried to force himself into her room after the team had returned from Germany following an event, where she was to travel with the men's team but was not allowed to do so by Sharma. The coach entered her room forcefully on May 29 and asked her to sleep with him. The coach told her to 'act like his wife' and that he is 'extremely fond of her', the cyclist claimed in her complaint.

“However, the worst was yet to come… On the 29th of May 2022, the coach returned from Germany early in the morning at approximately 7 am. I heard a knock on my door. Upon opening the door, I found, much to my horror, the coach physically forcing himself into my room. He then proceeded to lay on the bed. When I requested him to leave, he forcefully tried pulling me towards him and asked me to come and sleep with him,” the cyclist stated in her complaint.

“In addition, he made comments such as — I should behave like his wife as he is extremely fond of me and wants me to be his wife. This incident spiralled me into a state of shock and panic. At this point, I was extremely scared for my safety, well-being, and life. I constantly requested him and pleaded with him to leave my room and made the excuse that I was getting late for training and had to get ready," she added.

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It was after this incident that the cyclist reported the incident to the sports psychologist, who helped her in getting back to India. SAI had taken prompt action after the complaint came to light and had brought her back to India 'safely'. The SAI has also set up a committee to probe the matter and has assured the cyclist that justice will be provided to her.

The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) has also taken cognizance of the matter and has said it stands with the complainant in the case. CFI has also formed a separate panel to probe the allegations levelled against national coach Sharma.