Over the last few months, there has been a lot of drama and controversy in the sport of table tennis in the country. It all started when star player Manika Batra was observed competing without a coach in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Following the conclusion of the Games, the 26-year-old made a surprising disclosure that surprised everyone.

“During the qualification competition in Doha in March 2021, the national coach (Soumyadeep Roy) pressed me to yield my match to his pupil in order for her to qualify for the Olympics – in short, to engage in match-fixing,” Manika added.

“He may be the dark horse,” Daniel Vettori said of a former CSK player to keep an eye on at the IPL super auction in 2022.

She had stated that she had evidence of the occurrence and that she was prepared to disclose it to the relevant authorities when the time came. “The national coach personally met me in my hotel room and spoke with me for over 20 minutes after requesting me to relinquish the match,” she had continued.

The 26-year-old also made serious charges against the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), stating that she was wrongly accused of bringing the country into contempt.

She went on to explain that she had discussed the subject of match fixing pressure methods by the national coach with the federation in an e-mail dated August 14, 2021, but that the TTFI flatly denied the allegations without even conducting a preliminary, unbiased, and transparent investigation.

Manika eventually filed a lawsuit, and the Delhi High Court issued its judgement on Friday. Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has been suspended for six months and an administrator has been appointed to handle the case further, according to a shocking decision. In addition, Soumyadeep Roy, the national coach, was found guilty of match fixing.

With so many significant events scheduled in the next months, it will be fascinating to observe how things unfold from here and how it affects all table tennis players in the country (including Manika Batra).