Manika Batra vs TTFI: Delhi High Court seeks Centre’s stand on plea by table tennis star

Justice Rekha Palli granted two days to the central government counsel to take instructions on the petition which alleges that on one occasion, the national coach Soumyadeep Roy ‘pressurized’ Manika Batra to ‘throw away a match’.

The Delhi High Court on Monday (September 20) sought the Centre’s stand on a petition by Manika Batra, who was left out of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships, assailing Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) mandate of compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp in order to be selected.

Justice Rekha Palli granted two days to the central government counsel to take instructions on the petition which alleges that on one occasion, the national coach Soumyadeep Roy ‘pressurized’ Batra to ‘throw away a match’ to enable one of his personal trainees to qualify for the Olympics 2020 and seeks that the Sports Ministry ‘enquire into the management’ of the federation.

The judge said the allegations against the coach were serious and the Centre should be a little proactive. “There is something to be said. We have a high ranking player. We have to balance... If there are such senior allegations against the coach, Union of India has to be a little bit proactive on this,” said the judge.