Archery compound chief coach, who guided India to Olympic quota, still awaits salary
India’s compound archers made history at the Asian Games by becoming the first nation to secure an Olympic quota in the discipline, but the foreign coach who guided them to the milestone is still waiting for his salary more than three months after taking charge.
American Dave Cousins, appointed as India’s chief compound coach in May, is learnt to have “threatened to quit and leave the country” if his pending dues are not cleared.
However, Archery Association of India treasurer Dr Joris Paulose Ummacheril and a Sports Authority of India official said the payment was delayed due to a “technical issue”, which has since been “resolved”, and the dues would be “cleared within a couple of days”.
Cousins helped India win three gold and one bronze medal at the Asian Games, contributing to the country’s historic haul of five gold, two silver and two bronze across recurve and compound archery.
“He has spoken to some officials and said if the dues are not cleared he’s leaving home. He’s really unhappy with the way he’s been treated for three months... he’s not been paid so far,” the sources claimed.
Meanwhile, the federation is in talks with South Korean Park Chae-soon to take charge of India’s recurve programme ahead of LA 2028, with the multiple Olympic gold-winning coach expected to join by December.
Park was part of South Korea’s golden era, coaching its women’s team at the London 2012 Olympics and men’s team at Rio 2016 before becoming the overall head coach of the national team for the Tokyo Olympics.
With India’s archers building momentum towards LA 2028, the delay in paying a coach who has already helped deliver a historic Olympic has raised questions.
Issue resolved: AAI, SAI
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Ummacheril acknowledged the delay but said the issue had been resolved and the payment would be cleared shortly.
“There was some issue with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), so the payment got delayed. But it has all been worked out, and it will be paid within two days,” Joris told PTI.
A SAI official in New Delhi also attributed the delay to a technical problem with the bank and said the matter was being processed.
“We have already spoken to him and assured him that the payment is under process. It got delayed because of a technical issue with the bank, and it should be done within a couple of days,” the official said.
The delay comes at a crucial time for Indian archery, with Cousins having helped deliver results despite taking up his first international coaching assignment after a distinguished competitive career.
The 49-year-old American, a former world No. 1 who won World Archery Championship titles in 1999 and 2003, was handed the responsibility of building India’s compound programme ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where the mixed team event will make its debut.
He stepped into the role after Sergio Pagni, under whom India swept all five archery gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, left.
At the recent Asian Games, Cousins helped guide a relatively new group that had faced questions about its ability to deliver at the highest level.
The biggest breakthrough came from the unfancied mixed-team pair of Sahil Jadhav and Chikitha Taniparthi, who stunned South Korea in a shoot-off after the final was tied 157-157 over four ends.
Their gold also secured India its first Olympic quota in compound archery.
Cousins had also guided 18-year-old Prithika Pradeep to her maiden World Cup bronze at the Madrid stage in Spain.
Reflecting on India’s Asian Games campaign, Cousins had said the focus was always on preparation rather than medal predictions.
“The only thing we were willing to commit to is that our athletes would go prepared and that they would execute the process as best they could,” he had said.
“When the training is right, the preparation is right and the ecosystem is right, these are the results you get. We’re exceptionally happy to clinch the first-ever compound archery spot for the Olympic Games. That’s a huge thing for us right now.”
