Table Tennis Federation of India looking to hire foreign coach, ex-Spanish player Alfredo Carneros emerge as frontrunner

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is looking to rope in a foreign coach at the earliest. They have not managed to hire any in over three years due to various reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Spanish player Alfredo Carneros is the frontrunner for the position.

TTFI secretary Arun Banerjee said they are in talks with a few coaches and will soon come to a decision.

"We lost a lot of time due to COVID. We are on the lookout and are talking to a few coaches. A decision will be made soon," he was quoted by PTI as saying.

Table Tennis Federation calls for executive meeting on Saturday

The table tennis federation has called for an executive committee meeting on Saturday. The agenda to be discussed is star player Manika Batra’s match-fixing allegations against national coach Soumyadeep Roy.

After the paddler’s allegation, in response to the TTF’s show-cause notice, the federation had asked Roy for a written reply. Manika accused Roy of allegedly asking her to throw a match during the Olympic qualifiers in March.

With zeal and determination to give his best performance, Indian star paddler @sathiyantt is all charged up for #Tokyo2020 Let's support him with #Cheer4India#TableTennis@PMOIndia @ianuragthakur @NisithPramanik @ttfitweet @WeAreTeamIndia @YASMinistry @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/J84LXusErj

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 24, 2021

The matter will be discussed in the virtual meeting. Banerjee plans to propose setting up an inquiry panel. However, the final decision will rest with the committee.

TTFI president and Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, Dushyant Chautala, is expected to attend the meeting.

Manika Batra has not yet joined the ongoing national camp for the upcoming table tennis Asian championships.

3rd ITTF International Title achieved by @sathiyantt by winning GOLD 🥇in Men singles event at the 2021 Czech International Open 🏓#sathiyangnanasekaran #ittfczechopen2021 #tabletennisindia pic.twitter.com/BPx71hJ2BR

— Table Tennis Federation of India (@ttfitweet) August 26, 2021

Banerjee said most of the players have reported barring Manika and her mixed doubles partner Gnanasekharan Sathiyan, who is expected to join in a day or two.

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

"The rules are pretty clear. You have to attend the camp to be eligible for selection," he had told Sportskeeda earlier.