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Updated: Oct 18, 2017 16:36 IST

The Archery Association of India (AAI) has banned coach Sunil Kumar for life for misconduct during the Youth World Archery Championships held in Argentina from October 2-8.

Sunil Kumar, who had accompanied the Indian compound team at the global event, will be barred from participating in all activities related to archery.

Virendra Sachdeva, an official of the AAI, said that Sunil had hugged a female member of the Great Britain team in Rosario. The issue didn’t go down well with the world governing body and England team officials. “An inquiry has also been initiated to probe the incident further,” Sachdeva added.

Sunil refused to delve into the issue, saying nothing had happened. He, however, admitted he has been banned. “It is an internal matter and will soon be over,” he said.

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According to Sanjeev Kumar Singh, a government observer who had accompanied the team, the coach (Sunil) was sent back home midway through the event as it was an embarrassing situation. “We have also submitted a report to the Sports Authority of India and the federation,” he added.

Coach selection

As a practice, the top ranked archer in the team is given an opportunity to name his preference for coach. In case the archer doesn’t give a name, then the coach, who has the maximum number of wards in the team (there are four members), is given an opportunity travel with the squad. In this case, Mayank Rawat from Haryana was top ranked in compound event and he had recommended Sunil’s name.

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In the global event, Indian team won three medals, including gold in mixed recurve junior team event.