No sex please, we are Indians! This has always been the public refrain in Indian sport. But the sensational disclosure of women’s hockey team coach MK Kaushik’s alleged misdemeanour presents, regardless of the outcome, a sleazier side of the coin, as it were. Worse still, the letter of allegation by a female player has come at a most inopportune moment for Indian hockey that is living its worst days.

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So, what is it with Kaushik, coach of the Indian hockey team that won the Asian Games gold medal in 1998, but was given the “golden boot” on his return home from Bangkok? Is there even a sniff of truth in the allegations? Do coaches of women’s squads actually prey on unsuspecting players and coerce them into sexual acts? Is Indian sport as clean (doping apart) as it is portrayed?

Nearly two decades ago, a female basketball player confessed to me in confidence that she missed out on captaincy of Indian team because she refused overtures of the national coach. “Had I slept with him, I would have been the Indian captain, but I didn’t and so got kicked out,” she said while asserting that there is a casting couch of sorts in Indian sport.

In the case of Kaushik, I am not sure how to react. I have known him since his playing days and vividly recall the brilliant goal he scored for Tata from zero angle in a Clarke Trophy match in Bangalore. He has always come across as a suave and polished person. But I always believed that only the mirror tells the truth.

A few veteran sportspersons I have known for over two decades have since confirmed that there is “exploitation” of female players who are virtually coerced to do the official’s bidding. In hockey, a majority of players hail from humble backgrounds, lacking in quality education. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by an unscrupulous officialdom. So much so that subservience is more a rule than exception for their survival. If anyone denies this, he or she is the only saint among sinners!

It remains to be seen whether or not Kaushik is guilty as alleged, but there can be no smoke without fire. The point is that he will never be able to live down the slur on his character. As for the Sports Ministry, it is incumbent upon it to get to the bottom of the sordid episode, but be bold enough not to sweep away the many worms that are bound to crawl out of the can.

But pray, what has the Ministry done since receiving the unsigned letter dated June 11?

(The writer is a noted sports journalist who has been covering hockey for the past three decades and is a regular contributor to leading publications)