The Indian sports ministry has suspended the recognition of the Table Tennis Federation of India. The ministry cited "governance deficiencies" as the reason behind the move. The ministry has asked the Indian Olympic Association to form an ad hoc committee to administer the sport.
The ministry cited TTFI's inability to conduct elections on time as one of the factors behind the move, following an "unsatisfactory response" from the TTFI to an earlier show-cause notice. "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-hoc committee, till such time as a duly constituted governance structure is restored in TTFI," the ministry order stated.
The federation is led by Meghna Ahlawat, who is the first-ever woman President of the body. She was appointed to the role in December 2022. She is also the wife of Haryana MLA Dushyant Chautala, who is the son of former TTFI President Ajay Singh Chautala.
TTFI in turmoil in recent times
Meanwhile, Mehta's suspension was attributed to an internal power struggle in the federation, which denied the charge. The TTFI further insisted that it took the decision to "solely to safeguard transparency, collective decision-making, and the long-term interests of Indian table tennis."
Manika Batra's issue flagged recent controversy
Meanwhile, the federation found itself in choppy waters recently when Manika Batra went public over her non-selection in India's squad for the Asian Games. She hit out at the federation's decision and sought the ministry's intervention, further alleging that the selection process followed was ambiguous and unfair.
The ministry took action due to the issues in the TTFI and sent a show-cause notice. The federation sent its response, but the ministry sources stated that it was not convincing enough. It said that the TTFI failed in its duty of ensuring athlete welfare. The example for this was the delay in holding the National Championships in 2025. TTFI is slated to hold elections later this year but there has nothing on when the process would get underway.
(With PTI Inputs)
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