Karnataka athlete claims she was sexually harassed as a minor by the Taekwondo instructor

The Karnataka chapter of the Taekwondo Association of India (TAI) is experiencing accusations of incorrect conduct, including the sexual harassment of minors, intimidation at the target job and corruption. Among those who spoke against the association are Sishti (the name changed), a athlete who represented India at several international championships. Sishti claimed that, in 2015, when she was 16, she was subjected to sexual harassment by an instructor in her team.

Sishti told TNM that, despite raising the problem with the elderly, no measure was taken, which eventually forced it to give up temporarily in sports. She also said that the lack of an internal committee (IC) – as it is mandated by the sexual harassment of women in the workplace (prevention, prohibition and remediation) the law, commonly known as “ACT POSH” – allowed a culture to help people to evade responsibility.

In one of the three letters sent to the International Federation of Taekwondo (ITF), from August 25, 2024, Sishti wrote: “I witnessed sexual and physical conduct from various senior instructors who have power over all others.” These people, she said, further stop anyone trying to talk about these issues, because the decision to participate in tournaments are in their authority. This oppression takes various forms, including verbal abuse during training sessions and physical abuse during tournaments and travel, she added.

The letter called three instructors: Kiran Kumar, who would have made sexual progress towards Sishti in 2015; Another coach who is accused of trying to sexually agitate another female player; And Pradeep Janardhanan, who would physically assaulted a boy named Dhanush.

Dhanush was a former student to help associate with his operations. Later he died by suicide, and the case against Pradeep is pending at the High Court Karnataka. Pradeep, however, was later promoted as one of your vice -presidents, as well as secretary of the Karnataka Association.

After Sishti sent repeatedly to Tai in the last year, citing his concerns, the president of the association, Rajendran Balan, finally replied on January 30, 2025, recognizing the receipt of his complaints. He said that the association has already been two commissions – a disciplinary committee and a women’s committee – to address this nature. A few days later, the main member of TAI, Neral Trivedi, who runs the Women’s Committee, informed Sishti that he “analyzes the problem” and will send a report, mentioning that the meeting will take time, because the case would involve incidents dating up to 10 years.

What happened 10 years ago

According to Sishti, in December 2015, instructor Kiran Kumar tried to sexually harass her during the 30th National Taekwondo ITF championship in New Delhi. She also accused another coach of trying to harass a participating woman in a separate room at the same time.

“When both attempts did not succeed, they built a false narrative to justify the reaction and they accused me of not respecting the team’s rules,” he read a letter from Sishti.

Sishti said he reported the incident of the upper members of the association at that time, but no measure was taken.

Talking to TNM, she said she gave up sports after this incident because of severe mental stress. “I returned to participate in a sport -related seminar in 2021, but there was no change in the attitude of these men. They would pass employer judgments, saying things like: “Oh, you haven’t changed now,” she added.

Sishti said that after the seminar, she was invited to a conversation to address the problems of the past. She said she offered a beer, before she said she would have to offer a written statement to cooperate with the association if she wants to represent the Karnataka team at the 2022 National Championship. “I replied that I would only give the letter if they would not sexually harass any player during the tournament. They also offered me all the possible assistance to continue my career as an instructor, ”she said.

Sishti has won gold medals at Nationals in 2022, but had no other chance to represent the Karnataka team, assumed due to the influence of the accused. “I decided to represent Tamil Nadu, but an alleged administrative” error “cost me the possibility to participate in the nationals of 2023.”

As a result of these incidents, Sishti decided that he would not attend any event for the foreseeable future until the three requests are fulfilled:

1. Tai should form an internal committee according to the POSH law, 2013.

2. People responsible for harassment, corruption and conduct should be rejected.

3. A correct and transparent investigation should be organized in the culture of intimidation, intimidation and abuse in Tai.

Sishti said it was the lack of responsibility shown by the association after Dhanush’s death, who caused many players and instructors, including herself, to speak.

What happened to Dhanush

Dhanush, a Delit boy who was 19 years old at the time of his death, was the cousin of the Taekwondo Tejas instructor and died by suicide in November 2019, after being beaten and injured by now Pradeep Janardhanan. TNM accessed the first information report (wire) in this case, who stated that Pradeep was assaulted with a PVC pipe and verbally abused using Slugers Castist, assumed because Dhanush interacted with Pradeep’s daughter.

“Why are you talking to my daughter? You are belonging to a lower caste, while we are from a dominant house. If you present yourself again at Taekwondo classes, I will not save you or your family members, “he said.

Pradeep was reserved under sections 306 (suicide’s abilities) and 324 (voluntarily injured by dangerous weapons or means) of the 1989 law of scheduled castles and scheduled tribes (atrocities prevention). However, he was never arrested.

The complaint filed by Dhanush’s mother said that, following the attack on him, the 19 -year -old cried a lot because of physical and mental pain and feared for his life and his family. According to his mother, Tejas also received a call from the “Rowdy elements”, which would have instigated Dhanush to take his life.

“If this person is not punished, he can continue to play with many other young/young lives, taking advantage of his position in society and in the taekwondo field. Please confiscate CCTV images from the place where my son and PVC pipe were attacked, who was used to assault and defeat my son, ”the complaint shows.

“Without changing behavior”

Tejas, who is 28, said he gave up the association after the incident. Until the suicide of his cousin, Tejas worked as an instructor below Pradeep. “Even then, he used to raise his hand on the instructors under him and to insult them publicly. But it never became a big problem. After I gave up, my friends from the association tell me that Pradeep argues them every time I try to interact with them. Also, I am not allowed access to tournaments hosted by the federation, while other former trainers are, ”he added.

Revathi (the name changed), a former member of TAI, said that the members of the association manipulated it and to join a multi-level marketing scheme, where he was asked to hire his mother’s gold. She claimed that the association denied her permission to participate in the belt exam after expressing her disapproval on the scheme. A taekwondo belt exam is a test that students have to pass to progress until the next rank (belt level).

A Taekwondo instructor who gave up the association and asked to stay anonymous said Praddeep treated bad people and threatened to remove them from work. “Those who do not listen to him are subjected to many mental tortures. I approached a school to ask him if I can directly hire as a coach and I told them I had problems with the association. As a result, Pradeep and a few others have entered my house and issued threats that I shouldn’t do this, ”he said.

He also remembered an incident in which one of the junior instructors asked Pradeep to apologize for screaming at a person who came to workout late. “Pradeep asked for excuses, but he continued to behave in the same way. It is largely junior instructors who do all the work while hosting tournaments, but they are also those who are often abused, ”he added.

When contacted by TNM, the president of the Taekwondo Association of Karnataka, Gunasekaran, said that if the court finds Pradeep guilty, measures will be taken against him. As for Sishti’s accusations against Kiran Kumar, Gunasekaran said she was not aware of any complaints.

TNM tried to contact Kiran Kumar by phone calls and messages, but it was untouched.

Ajay UK inputs.