Table Tennis: Delhi HC suspends TTFI, Soumyadeep Roy found guilty of match fixing

The Delhi High Court has suspended the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) Executive Committee for six months. The Delhi High Court also found national coach Soumyadeep Roy guilty of match fixing.

The verdict comes after star Indian table tennis player Manika Batra alleged that national coach Roy asked the Indian paddler to indulge in match-fixing before the Tokyo Olympics.

The Delhi High Court added that an administrator will soon be appointed to run the affairs of the TTFI. The name of the administrator along with other relevant details concerning his appointment will be given in the court order.

“The report reveals a sorry state of affairs. The court is appalled to note some of the observations made by the committee with regard to the manner in which respondent no 1 (TTFI) and respondent no 3 (national coach) were functioning,” the judge said.

The judge added:

“These people should be out of this, people who don’t understand how players are to be treated, to give them dignity. These players are the pride of the nation. These people (TTFI officials) have to be suspended,” the judge remarked during the hearing. “In view of the circumstances, the court is left with no option but to appoint an administrator. The Executive Committee of the respondent no 1 will no longer be allowed to take any decision or interfere in the manner in which the administrator decides to discharge the duties assigned to him under the Code."

Roy had asked Manika Batra to lose a match during the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in March so that his trainee, Sutirtha Mukherjee, could get the nod to play at the Olympics.

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During the Tokyo Olympics, Manika Batra had refused to take Roy's help in the women's singles event. The table tennis federation issued a show-cause notice to Manika Batra alleging that she brought disrepute to the game by refusing Roy's help.

Manika Batra takes table tennis federation to court over functioning matters

Responding to the show-cause notice, Manika Batra denied she damaged the sport's reputation. She added that with Roy, who had asked her to lose a match, on the sidelines, she wouldn't be able to focus on her game. Manika moved court after she was not selected to represent India at the 25th Asian Table Tennis Team Championships.

In a written reply to Table Tennis Federation of India secretary Arun Banerjee, Manika Batra said:

"There was a more serious reason behind my decision to play without a national coach to avoid the last minute interruption. The national coach pressured me at the Doha Qualification Tournament in March 2021 to lose the match against his coach so that he could qualify for the Olympics. In short, I was asked for match-fixing. I made no promises and immediately informed TTFI," Manika said in her reply.

Though Manika's coach Sanmay Paranjape was given access to training sessions in Tokyo, he did not have the accreditation to enter the field of play and a request to upgrade his access card was denied. He was restricted to the gallery during Manika's matches.

The Delhi High Court will next hear the matter in the second week of April next.

Earlier, Manika received a clean chit from the table tennis federation. The Delhi High Court ordered the federation not to harass any player unnecessarily.

Justice Rekha Palli said that according to the report no fault could be attributed to Manika Batra seeking a personal coach. The report was filed under sealed cover.

The judge heard Manika Batra's petition alleging that the table tennis federation was carrying out its selection process in a non-transparent manner. She also alleged that the federation was targeting certain individuals such as herself.