‘You Indian dog’: 24-year-old Sikh nurse bears brunt of racially targeted attack at Australian gym

A 22-year-old Sikh nurse was left with a broken nose after an alleged racially motivated attack outside a gym in Corio, Geelong, in Australia on Tuesday night. According to Australian news website 9news, the purported victim, Harmanpreet Singh, said he was confronted by three men while leaving his gym and beaten up. He said the harassment began while he was still training, and that the trio was waiting for him outside the gym.

Singh said it was not the first time he had been the target of racial abuse, and it has started to have a big impact on him mentally, the news organisation reported. “I try to keep myself strong, not care about such things, but it hurts,” he was quoted as saying.

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“I don’t know if I’m going to go back to [the] gym or if I’m going to change my hours … I’m not going to feel safe after this.”

Verbally abused before attack

In a video obtained by the news channel, one man can be see hurling racial slurs at Singh, calling him an “Indian dog”. Singh recalled being headbutted by one of the men.

“He got really close to my face and then just got really back and hit his head on my nose. And just started bleeding straight away,” Singh said.

Singh said the trio fled in a grey sedan after the attack, and that he had to spend the night in the hospital.