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Coach threatens to take Malleshwari to court

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Olympic Games bronze medallist Karnam Malleshwari's allegations against Pal Singh Sandhu, head coach of the national weightlifting team, have put officials of the Indian Weightlifting Federation in a fix.

In an exclusive interview with rediff.com, Malleshwari had accused Sandhu of having tried to blackmail her when there was a debate whether she or Kunjarani Devi should go to the Sydney Games.

IWF officials are now avoiding the media. "Malleshwari is riding high at the moment. Anything said by us will be misconstrued by the people and those in authority," an office-bearer of the federation said on condition of anonymity.

When contacted, Sandhu wanted to know the context in which Malleshwari had used the word 'blackmail'. "If she used the word in ordinary terms it does not bother me. But if she used it in a sense that would malign my character I do intend to take her to court," he said.

Sandhu denied Malleshwari's charge that he favoured Sonamacha Chanu. "Who is the coach to say who should go to the Olympics and who not? When the selection was done there were 13 selectors from all parts of the country and the two coaches were told to stay out of the room. On the basis of their performances in 1999 and 2000, the selectors prepared a list of three lifters. Sonamacha Chanu and Malleshwari were placed first and second [in the list]. Kunjarani was the third choice. I was nobody to tell Malli whether she was going. We placed all the records before the selection committee consisting of weightlifters. Why should I prefer one weightlifter to another?" he countered.

He accused Malleshwari of playing the game of her Russian coach Leonid Taranenko who, Sandhu claimed, wants his assignment, which gets him $3000 per mensem, to continue.

"What interest do I have in anyone in particular? I am the national coach and I have been to various places in the last 30 years. Seventeen times have I been abroad. Hence it would not have made any difference to me if I had not gone to Sydney, as is being alleged by Malli. If Kunjarani had been selected in place of Sonamacha and she had failed to perform, we would have been criticised for not taking Sonamacha despite the fact that she is number two in the world in her category. I sacrificed my family commitments for training these girls," he claimed.

According to Sandhu, the IWF had dispensed with his services as coach after Taranenko, the 1980 Olympic heavyweight champion, took charge. But thereafter the performance of the Indian team in international competitions fell, he claimed, and so Sandhu was asked to return in December last.

"Since then I have been working day and night to ensure that the girls get good practice. We did not differentiate between one lifter and another. Sonamacha also put up a good performance. She could have also won a bronze with a little bit of luck. She performed to her capability and for that she was awarded a diploma. The media did not highlight that. Instead it chose to feed readers with what they were told. Why should I misinform the media about Malli? She is also one of my lifters," he said.