Committee to investigate Manika Batra’s allegation against coach

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court ruled on Wednesday to form a three-member committee to examine table tennis player Manika Batra’s allegation of an attempted match-fixing by national coach Soumyadeep Roy.

A single bench of Judge Rekha Palli expressed concern over the seriousness of the allegations, in which the country’s top-ranked player claimed the national coach had “put pressure” on her to “throw” an Olympic qualifying match in favor of one of its trainees.

The judiciary said the committee will consist of two judges and an athlete, and details will be given in the order, adding that an interim report on the committee’s matter will be requested in four weeks.

Batra had knocked on the doors of the court to demand its inclusion in the Asian Table Tennis Championship, which was due to be held in Doha on September 28, while also calling for scrutiny of the conduct of the Indian Table Tennis Federation (TTFI ) does not select her for the Asian Championships.

Highlighting the commission of inquiry appointed by the Center, the court said that in commenting on certain aspects of the sports body, it did not take Batra into account in its investigation, noting that no one wanted to support the athletes when they are in difficulty.

The judiciary also said that for now, except to notify the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) of the withdrawal of any action against Batra, TTFI would not write to the international body about him.

The star player also alleged that she was the target of TTFI simply because she spoke out against the body of the summit and was being treated as an accused.

Rather than being able to focus on her matches and tournaments, she was called on by the international federation to provide evidence, she said.

The judge said based on the committee’s report, the court would consider the issue of appointing a director to head the national sports body.

On September 23, the Delhi High Court provisionally suspended TTFI rules that required players to attend a national camp for selection in international events.

Batra made history at the Tokyo Olympics when he became the country’s first player to reach the third round of the Games before losing to Austria’s Sofia Polcanova.

(IANS)

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