New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has suspended its recognition of the Table Tennis Federation of India on Wednesday, August 12. The federation was suspended due to its governance and functioning issues.
The ministry has instructed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to put an ad hoc committee in place to manage the sport’s affairs until the TTFI is able to establish a duly constituted governance structure.
“The IOA, in consultation with the international body (ITTF), will take appropriate action to create an internal regulatory mechanism, including the constitution of an ad ccc committee, till such time that a duly constituted governance structure is restored in TTFI,” the ministry order stated.
The federation is currently led by Meghna Ahlawat, who is its first-ever woman President and is also the wife of Haryana MLA Dushyant Chautala. Chautala is the son of former TTFI President Ajay Singh Chautala. Ahlawat took over as president in December 2022.
TTFI in Turmoil for several months
The body has been in turmoil for several months. In January, TTFI suspended its Secretary General, former player Kamlesh Mehta, due to alleged financial irregularities. He took the matter to the Delhi High Court, which later dismissed his suspension.
The TTFI came under the spotlight again a few months later after star paddler Manika Batra was dropped from the Asian Games squad due to a lack of requisite domestic game time. She publicly criticised the decision and sought the Sports Ministry’s intervention. She alleged that the selection process followed by the federation was ambiguous and unfair.
The TTFI came under the spotlight again a few months later after star paddler Manika Batra was left out of the Asian Games squad for not meeting the required domestic game-time criteria.
Batra publicly criticised the decision and sought the Sports Ministry’s intervention, alleging that the federation’s selection process was ambiguous and unfair. The Ministry took note of all the issues surrounding the TTFI and served it a show-cause notice, but according to ministry sources, the response was not convincing enough.
The Ministry further noted that the TTFI failed in its responsibility to safeguard athletes’ welfare, due to the delay in conducting last year’s National Championships, for example. The federation is also due to hold its elections this year, but there has been no information on when the process would begin.
The federation was previously banned in February 2022 by the Delhi High Court after Batra’s petition questioning the selection policy of that time, which had led to her omission from that year’s Asian Championships.