Sports Ministry suspends TTFI recognition over governance issues

The Sports Ministry on Wednesday suspended its recognition of the Table Tennis Federation of India and asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to administer the sport, citing governance deficiencies within TTFI.

In its order, the ministry cited TTFI's failure to conduct elections on time as one of the reasons for the suspension after getting an "unsatisfactory response" to a show cause notice issued earlier this year.

"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 that a duly constituted governance structure is restored in TTFI," the ministry order stated.

The TTFI is currently led by Meghna Ahlawat, its first ever woman President who is also the wife of Haryana MLA Dushyant Chautala. Chautala is the son of former TTFI President Ajay Singh Chautala.

Ahlawat took charge in December 2022.

The body has been in turmoil for the past several months. It suspended its Secretary General former player Kamlesh Mehta in January alleging financial irregularities. Mehta took the matter to Delhi High Court which eventually quashed his suspension.

His suspension was widely attributed to an internal power struggle in TTFI, which denied the charge, insisting that the decision was taken "solely to safeguard transparency, collective decision-making, and the long-term interests of Indian table tennis."

The body made headlines a few months later when star paddler Manika Batra was left out of the Asian Games squad, citing lack of requisite domestic game time.

Batra publicly lambasted the decision and sought the Sports Ministry's intervention, alleging that the selection process followed by the federation was ambiguous and unfair.

The Ministry took cognisance of all the issues plaguing the TTFI and served a show cause notice to it. The response, according to Ministry sources, was not convincing enough.

The Ministry said that the TTFI failed in its duty of ensuring athlete welfare, an example of which was the delay in holding the National Championships last year.

The body is due to hold its elections this year but there has been no word on when the process would get underway.

The principles of accountability and democratic functioning expected of a National Sports Federation have not been followed, the ministry said, adding that the TTFI "repeatedly disregarded directions and guidelines" issued by it.

The TTFI was previously suspended in February 2022 by the Delhi High Court following Batra's petition questioning the selection policy of that time which resulted in her omission from the Asian Championships that year.

The Delhi High Court, while ordering the appointment of an administrator at that time, had stated that it was "appalled" by the "sorry state of affairs" in TTFI. The federation was restored in December following fresh elections

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