Compound archery coach resigns after Dronacharya snub

Claiming that “gross injustice” was done out to him, Jiwanjot Singh Teja demands a transparent process in the selection of candidates for the award.

At least three Arjuna awardees have asked the government to reconsider their decision of removing his name from this year’s Dronacharya awardees list, according to Teja. Representative Image: AFP

Disappointed at having been dropped from the list of Dronacharya award nominees due to a past instance of indiscipline, Jiwanjot Singh Teja resigned as national compound archery coach on Friday.

“I have resigned as Indian archery team coach,” Teja told reporters here.

‘Injustice’

Claiming that “gross injustice” was done to him, Teja demands a transparent process in the selection of candidates for the award. Teja had travelled to Jakarta for the Asian Games with the national compound team as head coach.

The case of alleged indiscipline against him and the one-year ban from Archery Association of India due to that followed were in the past, he said, pointing that he had been cleared of those charges long ago. He claimed he was not at fault in the incident for which he was punished. Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who hails from a sporting background, should have known these facts, Teja said. “It is like branding me as as a thief. This is gross injustice. I will knock the doors of the Prime Minister and the President,” he said.

At least three Arjuna awardees have asked the government to reconsider their decision of removing his name from this year’s Dronacharya awardees list, Teja claimed.

‘Unfortunate incident’

In 2015, Teja had travelled with the Indian team for the World University Games as chief coach. The team, which was not sent by the government, missed out on the bronze medal after they reached late because of confusion in timings. As a result, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) had slapped a three year ban on him while AAI had imposed a one-year ban.

Read: Arjuna awardees write to President, seek Dronacharya award for Teja

“The AIU had reduced the ban to one-and-a-half years because they also found out that I was not at fault. It was not deliberate and was an unfortunate incident. The Chef de Mission knew about the change in timings but he did not inform us. It was not even an event sanctioned by the government and I had gone by spending from my own pocket,” Teja said.

The Dronacharya award is presented to coaches for their outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis over a period of four years. It carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh. Clarence Lobo (hockey), Tarak Sinha (cricket), Jiwan Kumar Sharma (judo) and V. R. Beedu (athletics) were recommended for Dronacharya award in the Life Time category.