Five-member panel set up to probe paddler Manika Batra's match-fixing allegations against coach Soumyadeep Roy

The Table Tennis Federation of India constituted a five-member inquiry panel to probe star player Manika Batra's match-fixing allegations against national coach Soumyadeep Roy on Saturday.

Earlier, Batra alleged that her coach Soumyadeep forced her to lose a match against one of his students during the Olympic qualifiers held in March. She cited match fixing as the reason for not taking Soumyadeep's help during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

A meeting was held virtually on September 11 to look into the match-fixing matter thoroughly.

TTFI vice-president Chiranjib Choudhuri has been named as the chairman of the inquiry panel. The panel is comprised of two lawyers, Janendra Jain, Parth Goswami, and Yashpal Rana. The panel has been ordered to submit its report within six weeks.

Manika Batra's allegations against coach Soumyadeep

Earlier, the Table Tennis Federation of India had issued a show cause notice to Manika Batra regarding her refusal to take help from her coach during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Batra then alleged her coach Soumyadeep forced her to lose a match against one of his students during the Olympic qualifiers.

The paddler was clearly not seen taking any kind of service from the coach during her singles match at the Tokyo Olympics.

🇮🇳's ace paddler, Manika Batra, while responding to TTFI's show-cause notice, has reportedly accused the national coach, Soumyadeep Roy of pressurizing her to lose a match in the Olympic qualifiers.She mentioned this as the main reason for her to refuse his help at #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/61cs5XUGzM

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) September 4, 2021

Manika has not reported to the national camp yet

The Indian team for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships in Doha will be announced on September 16. Based on the eligibility criteria, the paddlers who take part in the national camp will be eligible for selection.

The federation recently made camp attendance compulsory for players eligible for major events, including the Asian Championships in Doha later this month.

Several Indian paddlers have reported to the camp. G Sathiyan is expected to arrive in a day or two. He earlier wanted to train in Poland. Sutirtha Mukherjee, has also arrived after recovering from fever. Meanwhile, Batra has not turned up for the camp yet.