Haryana minister Sandeep Singh, accused in sexual harassment case, began his political career in 2019

Sandeep Singh, Haryana minister and former Indian hockey team captain accused in a sexual harassment case filed by a woman coach, started his political career just three years ago. In his debut election in October 2019, the former Olympian won from the Pehowa constituency in Kurukshetra, defeating Mandeep Singh Chhattha of the Congress by a margin of 5,314 votes.

The prolific drag-flicker, nicknamed as “Flicker Singh”, was the only sportsperson among the three fielded by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who made it to the Haryana Assembly, as wrestlers Babita Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt lost from Dadri and Baroda, respectively in the 2019 polls. Singh, who is party's Sikh face, later joined the Manohar Lal Khattar-led ministry.

Also Read — Accused of sexual harassment, Haryana Sports Minister gives up portfolio

The 36-year-old BJP leader on Sunday gave up his Sports portfolio, saying he has taken this step on "moral grounds". The development came a day after Chandigarh police registered an FIR against the BJP leader on charges of sexual harassment and wrongful confinement on a complaint of a woman junior athletics coach from the state.

Singh, however, has dismissed the accusations as baseless and called for an independent probe. The former hockey player, who comes from Shahabad in Kurukshetra, was paralysed and remained on a wheelchair for two years after accidentally being hit by a bullet on train in 2006. But he did not give up and later made a strong comeback to the national hockey team.

After rehab and training following the gunshot injury, Singh emerged as leading scorer for his country in the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and was later appointed captain of Indian team. Under his captaincy, the Indian team clinched the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2009.
In 2018, a biopic, Soorma, was made on Singh's life. It was an inspirational story of a player who was paralysed after an accident but did not give up and came back stronger. During his younger days, Sandeep used to often accompany his elder brother Bikramjeet to play hockey at the Shahabad hockey academy. Shahabad town is considered as hockey nursery.