Who is Kuldeep Vedwan? National Archery Coach Sentenced to 5 Years Jail Term in POCSO Case

Indian para-archery coach Kuldeep Vedwan has been sentenced to five years in prison by a Sonipat court under the POCSO Act. He was found guilty of sexually harassing a 17-year-old student during national trials in April 2023. The verdict marks the downfall of a coach once celebrated for training top para-athletes.

Indian para-archery coach Kuldeep Vedwan has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment by a Fast Track Special Court in Sonipat, Haryana, following his conviction under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday, May 21.

Kuldeep Vedwan was charged under sections 10 (aggravated sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act, as well as Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The national para-archery coach was taken into immediate judicial custody following the court’s pronouncements by Additional Sessions Judge Narendra Singh.

Along with five years of rigorous imprisonment, the Special Court has imposed a financial penalty of INR 15,000, bringing a decisive conclusion to a case that has sent shockwaves through the Indian sports fraternity.

The Details of the Case

The POCSO case against Kuldeep Vedwan dates back to April 2023, when one of his students filed a complaint detailing the harassment she faced during the junior national selection trials. The incident took place on April 7, 2023, at 4 am, when Vedwan entered the hotel room of the 17-year-old junior national-level archer and subjected her to inappropriate physical advances.

After resisting Vedwan for 20 minutes, the junior archer immediately left the room and took shelter in one of her fellow female players’ rooms to protect herself from the harassment. Despite immense psychological distress caused by the incident, she displayed incredible fortitude by traveling to Singapore shortly afterward to represent India at the Asia Cup.

After returning home following the international tournament, she finally confided in her family and detailed the harrowing ordeal, which led to the registration of an FIR at the Murthal police station in August 2023. The complaint triggered repercussions in the Indian sports landscape, especially given the coach's high profile and his association with elite para-athletes.

Following registration of FIR and subsequent investigation, Kuldeep Vedwan was terminated from his services at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra, where he was instrumental in setting up an archery academy and training prominent para-archers who went on to achieve historic international milestones.

Now, the three-year legal battle has concluded with Fast Track Special Court in Haryana’s Sonipat, holding the veteran coach accountable for his actions, ensuring that justice is finally delivered to the young athlete.

Who is Kuldeep Vedwan?

Kuldeep Vedwan was born in Dhanaura Tikri village in Uttar Pradesh to a modest agricultural family, where his early interest in traditional sports eventually paved his way into professional archery. At the age of 16, Vedwan joined the Indian Army and served as a soldier for 12 years. With the Army’s institutional support, Vedwan became a National Gold Medalist in archery.

After leaving his career in the Indian Army, Kuldeep Vedwan decided to take up coaching full-time to nurture grassroots talent across the country. In 2012, a former Indian Armyman established Vedwan Archery Academy in his native village of Dhanaura Tikri, where he built a training ecosystem that would eventually produce world-class competitive archers.

Over the years, Kuldeep expanded his reach by setting up several training centres across different regions, including the Ashoka Archery Academy in Puducherry and academies across Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. He came to prominence when he joined the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra, where he was tasked with coaching differently abled archers.

Under his guidance, the likes of Sheetal Devi, Rakesh Kumar, and Payal Nag emerged as top Indian archers, securing historic international accolades and medals at the World Para Archery Championships and the Para-Asian Games. Vedwan, alongside co-coach Abhilash Chaudhary, turned the Katra sports complex into a powerhouse for Indian para-archery.

However, Kuldeep Vedwan’s efforts and recognition have now been completely overshadowed by the gravity of his actions and the subsequent legal reckoning. The multi-year investigation and trial exposed profound abuse of power and authority, which eventually culminated in his conviction on all counts by the Fast Track Special Court in Sonipat.