Delhi HC hears Manika Batra’s plea against TTFI and calls for government response

The Delhi High Court on Monday requested the Centre’s position on a petition from Manika Batra, who has been excluded from the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships, attacking the tenure of the Indian Table Tennis Federation (TTFI) compulsory participation in the national training camp. to be selected.

Judge Rekha Palli gave central government lawyer two days to take instructions on the petition, which alleges that on one occasion, national coach Soumyadeep Roy pressured Batra to throw a match to allow one of his personal trainees to qualify for Tokyo. JO 2020 and asks that the Ministry of Sports investigate the management of the federation.

The judge said the allegations against the coach were serious and the Center should be a little proactive.

“There is something to say. We have a top player. We have to balance… If there are such high level allegations against the coach, the Union of India has to be a little proactive about it. “said the judge.

“Let them (Center) come back with instructions. At the end of the day, she is the highest ranked player in the country today,” added the judge.

Senior lawyer Sachin Dutta, representing Batra, said that under a rule on compulsory participation in the national camp, his client’s luck for the 25th ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships, 2021, to be held in Doha from September to October was scuttled when it met all the merit criteria.

He urged the court to suspend the rule to allow him to participate in another international event scheduled for November.

“There is an event in November. This rule will be suspended immediately. It will kill my career,” said Dutta, noting that personal coaching is encouraged in several other sports.

The federation’s lawyer denied all the allegations and said the national coach was not even present at the national camp.

In the petition, Commonwealth Games gold medalist and winner Khel Ratna alleged that the federation conducts its selection processes in a non-transparent manner, targeting certain people like itself and acting completely against the interests of sportsmen and sportswomen.

She claimed that the national coach, in a clear conflict of interest, simultaneously ran a private table tennis academy and that on one occasion he pressured the petitioner to cancel a match only in the aim to help one of his trainees in his private academy. qualify for the Olympic Games, 2020.

This incident occurred on March 17, 2021 as part of the match to be held on March 18, 2021 during the 2021 Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament organized by ATTU. Not only did the Applicant refuse to comply with such an unethical, illegal and immoral request, but she also immediately communicated it to the Counselor, TTFI, on 03/18/2021, according to the plea.

“After the conclusion of the Olympic Games, Respondent No. 1 (federation) published rules and regulations dated 04.08.2021 (received by the petitioner on 08.27.2021) informing her that participation in the national coaches camp is mandatory, otherwise it would not be selected for any upcoming international event, ”he says.

The advocacy states that table tennis is an individual sport, which requires specialized training with supportive staff and therefore the rule against personal coaching is arbitrary, irrational, absurd and has no connection with the achievement of excellence in an individualized sport.

Only the personal trainer would know the strengths, weaknesses, skills and areas a player needs to focus on and strengthen. However, these rules do not allow any personal trainers / support staff, the advocacy adds.

The case will be heard on September 23.