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India's women's hockey team coach M.K. Kaushik said he had resigned on Wednesday to clear his name after a player accused him and some of his staff of sexually harassing her.
His departure is a blow to India's prospects at next month's World Cup in Argentina because he was seen as instrumental to raising the team's level of performance.
Kaushik's resignation came on the day Hockey India (HI) said it was setting up a panel to investigate the allegation brought by one player against the coach and other support staff.
"I am innocent and her allegations are baseless. She did it out of frustration after she was dropped from the side," Kaushik told reporters.
"I have submitted my resignation to (the) HI president because the incident damaged my image."
HI president Vidya Stokes told reporters an assistant coach will take charge of the team for the Asian Champions Trophy in Busan, South Korea, this month.
Kaushik, a member of India's 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medal-winning men's hockey team, met HI officials on Wednesday where he tendered his resignation.
"Hopefully, the panel will give its recommendations before next month's World Cup so that we can either get a new coach or reinstate Kaushik if he is found innocent," HI secretary Narinder Batra said.
The federation said it had suspended a member of the team's support staff after receiving evidence he had been involved with prostitutes.
(Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Ken Ferris)
(For more news on Reuters India, click http://in.reuters.com)
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