GSA terminates services of swimming coach

NT NETWORK

Panaji

The Goa Swimming Association (GSA) on Thursday terminated the services of swimming coach Surajit Ganguly, who was deputed to Goa by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), after a video of him sexually abusing a 15-year-old female athlete emerged online.

“I have taken a strong view of the incident. The Goa Swimming Association has terminated the contract of coach Surajit Ganguly. I am asking the Swimming Federation of India to ensure that this coach is not employed anywhere in India. This applies to all federations and disciplines,” Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju announced on his Twitter handle after the incident was brought to his notice.

“The GSA had to ask SAI for the services of a coach since the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) had no swimming coaches available. The Association wrote to SAI and they

recommended the name of Surajit and we accepted the name and he was appointed,” Digambar Kamat, president of Swimming Federation of India and GSA told ‘The Navhind Times’.

Surajit Ganguly took over as the swimming coach two years ago and was based at the SAG swimming pool at Peddem in Mapusa. “We have no link with the coach. We allowed the swimming association to use our pool. GSA used the pool with the coach whose services they were looking after,” a senior SAG member told this newspaper.

“The GSA asked us for the keys of the gymnasium at the Peddem complex. We had informed the Association that they could use the gym during normal time. However, since they insisted on using the gym at other times, a key was handed over to the Association,” stated the member of SAG.

“We have got in touch with the police in West Bengal and are expecting them to transfer the case to us. Once we receive the details, the Mapusa police will be asked to do the needful,” Utkrisht Prasoon, SP North, informed this newspaper.

“A complaint against the coach was lodged at the Rishra police station on Thursday by the father of the swimmer.

“Stringent action will be taken through the Sports Authority. Firstly, it’s a heinous crime of serious nature, so I’ll urge the police to take stringent penal action against the coach urgently,” Rijiju tweeted.