Dronacharya award-winning coach Naval Singh has been sacked by the Paralympic Committee of India following molestation allegations leveled by Neeraj Chopra and Sumit Antil. The PCI suspended Singh with immediate effect on Saturday, April 18, after India’s star sportspersons leveled allegations of mental harassment by him.
The news of the termination was confirmed by Devendra Jhajhariya, head of PCI, to India Today’s sister channel, Aaj Tak, on Sunday. There are also discussions within the board to initiate an inquiry against the Dronacharya awardee.
Paralympic gold medalist Sumit Antil has filed a complaint with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), accusing Dronacharya awardee coach Naval Singh of verbal abuse and mental harassment. Antil, backed by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, claimed that Singh’s behavior had a negative impact on athletes.
He alleged that Naval Singh repeatedly singled out both him and Neeraj Chopra and said the coach crossed professional limits by verbally assaulting their families as well.
“He mentally harassed us and abused ours, just like in mine and Neeraj’s family. He seems to be mentally unstable,” Antil told PTI.
Antil said the problem kept getting worse over time and he was finally left with no choice but to file a formal complaint with the authorities.
“He would deliberately share recordings of his abusive language with our managers so that it would reach us.
Naval Singh, who received the Dronacharya Award in 2015, is currently coached by Sachin Yadav. Sachin finished fourth in last year’s World Cup ahead of Neeraj Chopra, who finished eighth as he battled injury. The Navy has not yet responded to the allegations.
Antil added that his complaint has the support of Neeraj Chopra as well as fellow para-lancers Navdeep Singh and Sandeep Chaudhary.
He also questioned the coach’s intentions and suggested that his actions may have been influenced by competing interests.
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Published on:
18 Apr 2026 23:44 IST
