Hockey India Removes U-18 Staff Member From National Camp Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations: Report

Hockey India has removed support staff member Sudhir Golla from the ongoing Under-18 boys national camp in Bhopal after serious allegations of misconduct and negligence surfaced against him.

Golla had been part of the coaching setup as an assistant coach for the camp, where the Indian junior side is preparing for an upcoming bilateral series in Australia. His removal came with immediate effect after the allegations were brought to the federation’s notice.

According to a Times of India report, the action followed a parallel decision by the Jharkhand Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, which had already relieved Golla of his duties at the Eklavya Hockey Training Centre in Ranchi after multiple complaints emerged from trainees at the facility.

The complaints reportedly pointed to inappropriate behaviour towards female players and repeated unauthorised absence from training sessions, which affected the functioning of the centre.

A Hockey India official told TOI, “The moment we learned about the harassment allegations, he was removed from the camp immediately. In Hockey India, we always take complaints of misconduct with utmost seriousness.”

The issue first came to light after several trainees at the Centre of Excellence in Morabadi lodged complaints with the state sports department, prompting an internal review.

Following an initial inquiry, Jharkhand authorities decided to remove Golla from the Ranchi centre and appointed a replacement to ensure training activities continued without disruption.

An official order issued by the state’s Department of Sports and Youth Affairs stated, “He has remained continuously absent from training duties and behaved inappropriately with girl trainees. In the past too, several verbal complaints had been received against Golla,” underlining that concerns about his conduct had been raised on earlier occasions as well.

The controversy has added to a difficult period for Hockey India, which has recently faced criticism over its administrative decisions.

The federation has already been under the spotlight following the contentious departure of former India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh from the junior men’s head coach role and the appointment of a foreign replacement soon after.

Sreejesh had publicly questioned the handling of the situation, drawing widespread reactions from the hockey community.