Rower Manika Batra’s struggles expose TTFI, but it’s still a family business – The New Indian Express

Factor: IANS

NEW DELHI: India’s star table tennis player Manika Batra, who had a tough last year both on and off the court, is slowing down but steadily finding her mojo again, which is a good sign for the Indian sport.

After the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Manika has performed well in recent tournaments and is looking forward to a great season. On Tuesday, she reached a career-best 33rd in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) women’s singles world rankings, which came after her brilliant semi-final run at WTT Contender Doha.

Prior to that, the 27-year-old won a historic bronze medal for India at the Asia Cup in Bangkok in November. However, before this great Show, Manika had a very tough last year where she made it to the semi-finals in just one event and the quarter-finals in two tournaments including the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The beginning of a difficult time

It all started at the Olympics, where Manika created a sensation as a player by becoming the first Indian player to reach the third round in Tokyo 2020. However, soon after, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) decided to give the competition a go. present him with a notice for refusing to allow coach Soumyadeep Roy’s help in his singles match in Tokyo.

When her personal coach Sanmay Paranjape was denied Field of Play (FOP) access at the venue, Manika declined the opportunity to have Roy present in her corner during singles matches. He played all of his singles matches without a coach and lost in the third round. However, his mixed doubles team with Sharath Kamal Roy was there.

Usually, athletes prevent themselves from getting involved in off-field controversies, especially at the peak of their careers. But that didn’t concern Manika, who was involved in a fight with the TTFI right after the Tokyo Olympics ended.

Saying that she was “subjected to undue pressure and ill-treatment”, which left her in “immense mental agony”, she approached the Delhi High Court against the TTFI in September.

After a few months, the court finally granted the athlete’s benefit. The star paddler won the case, but all the off-field controversies didn’t help him in his preparations for CWG 2022.

Batra at the CWG 2022 fair

Manika won the women’s team gold, mixed doubles bronze with G. Sathiyan and India’s first-ever women’s table tennis gold at the Gold Coast 2018 CWG and reached Birmingham as a serious gold medal contender, but the paddler did not make it. as expected and lost all four events in which he competed in the quarterfinals.

Batra’s regular CWG 2022 trip could have been due to several reasons. But the main reason at the time seemed to be his fight with TTFI, which may have affected him mentally. He was not at his best in Birmingham which ultimately led to his medalless campaign.

After the event, in an emotional Instagram post, the Indian paddler apologized to the country for failing to win a medal in Birmingham, but was also determined to come back stronger.

“I’m sorry to my country and its people who were hoping and cheering for me. In this CWG, I could only make it to the quarterfinals and yes, I’m very upset. I’ve cried every morning since the day I lost that match. But I promise I’ll get through this stronger and I work hard every day hungry for the same,” Batra wrote.

The return and the road ahead

Based on her career achievements, Manika, a Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee, certainly had the mental toughness to overcome challenges and setbacks, and she did so by gradually improving her performances in tournament after tournament.

After the CWG, Manika worked with a coach on her game and fitness, but the comeback was not easy. Top-seeded Batra lost to Sutirtha Mukherjee in the women’s table tennis semifinals at the 36th National Games in September.

However, a big tournament like the Asian Cup in Bangkok last November changed things dramatically for him. With the Asian Cup bronze, he became the first Indian table tennis player to win a medal in the continental tournament and only the second Indian to achieve this feat, after Chetan Baboor who won silver in 1997 and bronze in 2000.

The historic medal gave him more confidence and Batra has been on the rise ever since, achieving his career-best singles ranking recently.

There are many big events like World Table Tennis Championships, Asian Games and others where Indian fans would like to see Manika produce impressive performances, gain momentum and peak in time for the all-important Paris Olympics in 2024.

Meghna Ahlawat is the new head of TTFI

In 2022, the Delhi High Court had suspended the TTFI in February and appointed a Committee of Administration (CoA) to take over its operations. The verdict came after Manika Batra appealed to the court alleging match-fixing against the national coach during the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.

He claimed that the then national coach Soumyadeep Roy had asked him to allow him to play against his compatriot Sutirtha Mukherjee – he also trained at his academy.

The court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations.

Meghna Ahlawat was then elected president of the union and former stalwart Kamlesh Mehta was elected general secretary. Patel Nagender Reddy was elected as Treasurer.

Ahlawat, who is the wife of Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, opposed Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi. Dushyant Chautala was the previous chairman of TTFI.

The election was a big relief when the Executive Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) had proposed to suspend the TTFI.

</p> <p>NEW DELHI: India’s star table tennis player Manika Batra, who had a tough last year both on and off the court, is slowing down but steadily finding her mojo again, which is a good sign for the Indian sport. After the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Manika has performed well in recent tournaments and is looking forward to a great season. On Tuesday, she reached a career-best 33rd in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) women’s singles world rankings, which came after her brilliant semi-final run at WTT Contender Doha. Prior to that, the 27-year-old won a historic bronze medal for India at the Asia Cup in Bangkok in November. However, before this spectacular performance, Manika had a very tough last year, reaching the semi-finals in just one event and the quarter-finals in two tournaments, including the Commonwealth Games 2022. The start of a tough time It all started at Olympics where Manika created a sensation as a player when she became the first Indian player to reach the third round in Tokyo 2020. However, soon after that the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) decided to issue a showdown. to him for refusing to allow coach Soumyadeep Roy help for his singles in Tokyo. When her personal coach Sanmay Paranjape was denied Field of Play (FOP) access at the venue, Manika declined the opportunity to have Roy present in her corner during singles matches. He played all of his singles matches without a coach and lost in the third round. However, his mixed doubles team with Sharath Kamal Roy was there. Usually, athletes prevent themselves from getting involved in off-field controversies, especially at the peak of their careers. But that didn’t concern Manika, who was involved in a fight with the TTFI right after the Tokyo Olympics ended. Saying that she was “subjected to undue pressure and ill-treatment”, which left her in “immense mental agony”, she approached the Delhi High Court against the TTFI in September. After a few months, the court finally granted the athlete’s benefit. The star paddler won the case, but all the off-field controversies didn’t help him in his preparations for CWG 2022. Batra at CWG 2022 Won women’s team gold, mixed doubles bronze with G. Sathiyan and for the first time ever for India. gold in women’s table tennis singles at the 2018 CWG on the Gold Coast Manika arrived in Birmingham as a serious gold medal contender, but the paddler fell short of expectations, losing all four events in which she competed in the quarterfinals. Batra’s regular CWG 2022 trip could have been due to several reasons. But the main reason at the time seemed to be his fight with TTFI, which may have affected him mentally. He was not at his best in Birmingham which ultimately led to his medalless campaign. After the event, in an emotional Instagram post, the Indian paddler apologized to the country for failing to win a medal in Birmingham, but was also determined to come back stronger. “I’m sorry to my country and its people who were hoping and cheering for me. In this CWG, I could only make it to the quarterfinals and yes, I’m very upset. I’ve cried every morning since the day I lost that match. But I promise I’ll get through this stronger and I work hard every day hungry for the same,” Batra wrote. A comeback and a way forward Going by her career achievements, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee Manika certainly had the mental toughness to overcome challenges and setbacks, and she did so by gradually improving her performances in tournament after tournament. After the CWG, Manika worked with a coach on her game and fitness, but the comeback was not easy. Top-seeded Batra lost to Sutirtha Mukherjee in the women’s table tennis semifinals at the 36th National Games in September. However, a big tournament like the Asian Cup in Bangkok last November changed things dramatically for him. With the Asian Cup bronze, he became the first Indian table tennis player to win a medal at the continental tournament and only the second Indian to achieve the feat after Chetan Baboor, who won silver in 1997 and bronze in 2000. The historic medal gave him more confidence and Batra has been on the rise ever since, reaching his career-best singles ranking recently. There are many big events like the World Table Tennis Championships, Asian Games and others where Indian fans would like to see Manika produce impressive performances, gain momentum and peak in time for the all-important 2024 Paris Olympics. Meghna Ahlawat new TTFI chief In 2022, the Delhi High Court had suspended the TTFI in February and appointed a Committee of Administration (CoA) to take over its operations. The verdict came after Manika Batra appealed to the court alleging match-fixing against the national coach during the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers. He claimed that the then national coach Soumyadeep Roy had asked him to allow him to play against his compatriot Sutirtha Mukherjee – he also trained at his academy. The court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations. Meghna Ahlawat was then elected president of the union and former stalwart Kamlesh Mehta was elected general secretary. Patel Nagender Reddy was elected as Treasurer. Ahlawat, who is the wife of Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, opposed Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi. Dushyant Chautala was the previous chairman of TTFI. The election was a big relief when the Executive Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) had proposed to suspend the TTFI.<br />