NATIONAL COACH PRESSURISED ME TO LOSE OLYMPIC QUALIFIER: BATRA

NEW DELHI: Table tennis star Manika Batra has alleged that national coach Soumyadeep Roy asked her to throw a match during the Olympic qualifiers in March and that was the reason she refused his help in the singles competition of the Tokyo Games.

Responding to Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) showcause notice, Manika denied that she brought disrepute to the game by refusing Roy’s help.

“Besides the need to avoid disturbance due to his last minute intervention, there was an additional and much more serious reason behind my preference to play without the national coach,” Batra alleged in her response to TTFI secretary Arun Banerjee.

“The national coach had pressurised me during the qualification tournament in Doha in March 2021 to concede my match to his student to enable her to qualify for Olympics - in short- to indulge in matchfixing,” she said.

Roy was not available for a response to the allegations. “The allegations are against Roy. Let him respond and then we will decide future course of action,” said Banerjee.

Roy is a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist in the team event and also an Arjuna awardee.

Both Manika and Sutirtha Mukherjee, who trains in Roy’s academy, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Manika qualified on her higher world ranking after losing to Sutirtha, who secured the Olympic quota from the event held in Doha.

“I have evidence of this incident and I am ready to present it to the competent authorities at the appropriate time. For asking me to concede the match, the national coach personally met me in my hotel room and talked to me for nearly 20 minutes,” said Batra.