Paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil has submitted a complaint to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), alleging mental harassment and verbal abuse by Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh. Antil’s allegations has also received support from Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra.
Antil, a gold medallist at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympics, alleged that Singh’s conduct has been damaging for athletes. He also alleged that Singh had repeatedly targeted him and Neeraj, and claimed that the coach crossed professional boundaries by abusing their families.
“He mentally harassed us and abused our, as in mine and Neeraj’s, families. He seems mentally unstable,” Antil told PTI.
Antil, who is a bright medal hope for India in the F64 category for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, said he was forced to file a formal complaint as the situation escalated over time.
“He would deliberately share recordings of his abusive rants with our managers, so that they reach us,” Antil said.
SAI said it has received the complaint and is looking into it with the concerned federation. However, it also clarified that Singh is not an SAI employee and is currently working with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) as part of the National Coaching Camp.
“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,” a SAI 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.”
Singh, who received the Dronacharya Award in 2015, is currently coaching Sachin Yadav. Sachin had finished fourth at last year’s World Championships, ahead of Neeraj, who came eighth while competing with an injury. Singh has not responded to the allegations yet.
Antil said that his complaint has also been supported by Neeraj, along with 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,” Antil said.
“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.”
Antil also questioned the response from the authorities after the complaint was filed.
“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 also raised concerns over the coach’s intent and suggested that his actions could be linked to competitive interests.
“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.
