Gurinder Singh Sangha is already back in India, having abandoned his post as the umpire manager for the hockey competition at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya. He left Japan before the tournament wrapped up, a sudden exit driven by a fresh wave of sexual misconduct allegations against the Jalandhar-based international official.
Sources close to the event claim Sangha attempted to hug and kiss a female hockey official from Malaysia, using the pretext of mentoring her. The Malaysian umpire manager received the complaint immediately. Other unnamed sources allege he also misbehaved with hotel staff, though these specific claims remain unverified by independent media.
This isn't his first brush with controversy. In January 2025, during the Hockey India League in Ranchi, umpire Yogita Pasi filed a formal complaint against Sangha. She described his conduct during a hotel interaction as "unwanted and inappropriate." Hockey India's secretary general, Bhola Nath Singh, confirmed the receipt of that complaint and constituted a three-member panel for a preliminary investigation, though the final outcome of that specific probe has not been publicly disclosed.
Sangha's exit lands in the middle of a turbulent period for Hockey India, which has faced multiple harassment allegations recently. The federation removed a support staff member from a national camp earlier this year and dealt with an April 2026 complaint involving an official. The recurring nature of these incidents has intensified scrutiny on how the governing body handles internal misconduct.
The hockey competition at the 20th Asian Games will proceed without Sangha, leaving the Asian Hockey Federation to manage the remaining fixtures with their existing technical team in place.