Commonwealth Games 2018: India's table tennis star Soumyajit Ghosh accused of rape, CWG participation in doubt

Soumyajit Ghosh, one of India's top Table Tennis players, has been accused of raping an 18-year-old, after a case was filed against him at a police station in Barasat, near Kolkata.

With this rape charge, Soumyajit's participation in the upcoming Commonwealth Games has also come under a shadow of a doubt.

An 18-year-old girl is said to have filed a case against the top paddler at the Barasat Women's Police Station.

After these charges surfaced, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is now set to decide on what action to take against the 24-year-old.

In a statement, Ghosh accepted that these charges have been laid against him. He said, "She has been taking money from me for around a year now. I have paid her more than Rs 1 lakh now. I've got all the receipts for these payments. I have also borne the medical expenses of one of her relatives, the documents of which, are in my possession."

Ghosh further went on to admit that he had introduced her as his fiancee after winning he Arjuna Award two years back, but got tired of her for blackmailing him.

Barasat Police confirmed that it has received a complaint against Ghosh, and are looking into the matter.

Ghosh has been one of the most promising players in the indian table tennis scene. In fact, he became the youngest TT player to win the National Championships, beating veteran paddler and Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal. His exploits in that tournament certainly propelled him up the Indian TT hierarchy.

He followed that up with a mixed doubles gold medal at the Lufthansa Games in Germany, before winning the ITTF Challenge Seamaster Chile Open men's singles title, defeating countryman Anthony Amalraj in the summit clash.

This latest development comes as a huge blow for Ghosh, who was one of India's brightest prospects in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games.