Delhi HC passes stay order in Manika Batra vs TTFI dispute
Delhi High Court temporarily stays the rules of the TTFI to attend National Camps in today's hearing in the ongoing Manika Batra vs TTFI saga.
Manika Batra during the Tokyo Olympics (Source: Getty images)
In a fresh turn of events in the raging Manika Batra vs TTFI tiff, the Delhi High Court has stayed the rule of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) which made it mandatory for players to attend the National Coaching Camp for getting selected for the international tournaments.
According to the Delhi High Court, the ball is currently in 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra's court, as far as her petition to get included in the squad for the upcoming Asian Championships in Doha is concerned. The Delhi High Court has determined that the sole criteria for selection of an athlete should be the merit of the individual and not attending or attending a National Camp prior to the event, as such. It will come down to the TTFI however to determine the final action to include or exclude Manika, who did not attend the camp in Sonepat.
[Manika Batra v. TTFI]
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) September 23, 2021
Delhi HC temporarily stays Rules of Table Tennis Federation Of India which makes attending of National Coaching Camp compulsory for being selected for international events, Centre to conduct an enquiry into allegations put forth by Batra.#ManikaBatra https://t.co/5Fnv11zQ0j
Ultimately, it will be up to the TTFI to take the final call if they want to include their star player in the contingent headed for Doha. With China not participating in the Asian Championships, India's chances will be far better than usual to medal at the prestigious continental championships that occur biennially. If Manika Batra does not go, it will be Sutirtha Mukherjee who will lead the women's side while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal will take reins of the men's side.