(Image source from: Woman gymnast outraged by coach's lewd comments})

Controversy hit Indian gymnastics hours before the team was to leave for the Incheon Asian Games.

A woman gymnast has alleged that a coach and an international level player passed obscene comments and made vulgar gestures at her during practice sessions at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

The accused, identified as Manoj Rana (coach) and Chandan Pathak, might now be called back for investigations, a senior officer said.

The victim, who is not part of the Asiad squad, alleged that both Rana and Pathak threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter. In fact, the Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI) tried to stop her from lodging a complaint. The incident took place on September 2.

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against the two on Tuesday for outraging a woman's modesty (509 IPC) and criminal intimidation (506 IPC) at the IP Estate police station in central Delhi.

The 20-year-old victim revealed that the two accused passed lewd comments about her innerwear while she was training at around 5.30.pm on September 2.

"They were discussing my attire and made fun of my innerwear saying, 'Arey safed hai safed hai' and made various gestures towards me," the victims says in the FIR. "They kept making fun of me...in abusive language which harmed my dignity and self-respect. There are words which were highly depressing and I cannot elaborate..." the FIR read.

The woman further says that when the chief coach asked them to apologize, the two tried to intimidate her.

"Manoj Rana threatened me saying, 'Tune galat aadmi se panga liya hai tujhe to mai bataaoonga'. This makes me feel that I will be attacked again," she said in the FIR.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury