New Delhi: A controversy has erupted in the Indian women's table tennis team and this time it has come to the fore in the middle of their Commonwealth Games campaign. India, participating in the tournament as the defending champions in the women's team event, was defeated in the quarter-finals by Malaysia.
The defeat of Manika Batra-led India women's TT team was both shocking and upsetting as some Malaysian players are not even included in the world rankings. As per PTI, India's designated women's coach Anindita Chakraborty was absent during India's knockout stage match, raising speculations. Instead of Anindita, S Raman, the coach of the men's team, was spotted sitting near the court for women's tie in Birmingham, the news agency reported.
S D Mudgil, a member of the Committee of Administrators governing the Table Tennis Association of India, said, "This should not have happened. Only the female coach should have been present during the women's match. I will talk to the team about this matter."
Moudgil was supposed to be in Birmingham with the Indian team as team manager but he stayed in India to accommodate players' request for sports psychiatrist Gayatri Vartak.
Raman, who is the personal coach of male TT player G Sathiyan, was seen coaching Reeth Rishya when the quarter-final match turned intense, PTI reported. After the women's TT team's shocking defeat, they did not even stop to talk to the media, which is standard protocol in such big events.
Raman said after the match, "It was a very close match. The combination was completely different for us. The combination of a defensive player, a left-hander, and a right-hander was challenging for us. The girls put up a tough challenge but today was not our day."
(With PTI Inputs)