This story could well make for an ideal sequel to the hit Bollywood flick Chak De! India, where an uninspiring Indian women's hockey team is resurrected into winning the World Championship by a highly motivated coach, an ex-player himself.
This story could well make for an ideal sequel to the hit Bollywood flick Chak De! India, where an uninspiring Indian women's hockey team is resurrected into winning the World Championship by a highly motivated coach, an ex-player himself. The writer of the 2007 film Jaideep Sahni had admitted that the story of Chak De was inspired by a series of events taking place in the life of national women's hockey coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik as he successfully guided the Indian eves to the Commonwealth Games gold in Manchester, 2002.
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Yesterday, the very same coach, MK Kaushik found himself embroiled in a sex scandal involving the very same women's hockey team. According to reports, a team member gave a written complaint to Hockey India
secretary Narendra Batra levying charges of sexual harassment against Kaushik and the team's videographer Basavaraj. Reports also claimed Basavaraj was caught posing for pictures with prostitutes at a recent international trip and has been suspended.
According to a source
associated with the women's team: "This is all politically motivated. There are some people, who don't want Kaushik to continue as coach and since it was Kaushik, who recommended Basavaraj for the post of videographer, he is being unnecessary linked to the controversy."
Kaushik is livid. He is believed to have told a close relative: "I've been coaching these girls for over a decade. In fact, I have held most of them by their hand and led them on to the Astro-turf at a time when they were barely as tall as the hockey stick itself. Despite all this, if this is what I get, then I think all the effort that I've put in is just not worth it. Let me tell those, who feel that I'm hungry to retain the national coach's job, that I'm willing to quit immediately. But first, I would like the Hockey India-appointed inquiry committee to clear the air of all this nonsense."
According to Batra, the Sports Ministry has been apprised of the situation and following the complaint a four-member committee comprising Rajeev Mehta, Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Sudarshan Pathak has been appointed to investigate the scandal.