TT star Manika Batra alleges national coach Roy asked her to fix match in Olympic qualifiers
New Delhi, Sep 3: Table tennis star Manika Batra has alleged that national coach Soumyadeep Roy asked her to throw a match during the Olympic qualifiers in March and that was the main reason she refused his help in the singles competition of the Tokyo Games.
Responding to Table Tennis Federation of India's show cause notice, Manika strongly denied that she brought disrepute to the game by refusing Roy's help.
According to TTFI sources, the world number 56 stated she would not have been able to focus on her match if someone who asked to her indulge in match-fixing months earlier was sitting by her side.
"Besides the need to avoid disturbance due to his last minute intervention, there was an additional and much more serious reason behind my preference to play without the national coach," the Khel Ratna awardee alleged in her response to TTFI secretary Arun Banerjee.
"The national coach had pressurised me during the qualification tournament in Doha in March 2021 to concede my match to his student to enable her to qualify for Olympics - in short- to indulge in match-fixing," she said.
Despite repeated attempts, Roy was not available for a response to the allegations. The player-turned coach has also not been asked to join the ongoing national camp and has been told by TTFI to present his side of the story.
"The allegations are against Roy. Let him respond and then we will decide future course of action," said Banerjee when asked about Manika's response to the show cause notice.
Roy is a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist in the team event and also an Arjuna awardee.
Both Manika and Sutirtha Mukherjee, who train in Roy's academy, ended up qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Manika qualified on her higher world ranking after losing to Sutirtha, who secured the Olympic quota from the event held in Doha.
"I have evidence of this incident and I am ready to present it to the competent authorities at the appropriate time. For asking me to concede the match, the national coach personally met me in my hotel room and talked to me for nearly 20 minutes," said Manika.
"He tried to promote his own student using unethical means under the pretext of national interest. He was accompanied by his student who trains in the private academy not only run by, but also named after him.
"From my side, I did not promise to oblige him and promptly reported this matter to a TTFI official. I decided not to obey the unethical command of the national coach. But his intimidation and pressure had its effect on my mental frame and consequently my performance.
"During the Olympics, I wanted to keep away from the demoralising effect of such a coach. Because, as a player representing India, it was my duty to serve my country in the best possible way."
Manika made history by reaching the third round while Sutirtha also did well to reach the second round.
TTFI had called Manika's refusal to take Roy's advice as an act of indiscipline and showcaused her.
"I strongly deny the charge therein that I brought disrepute to TTFI, Government of India and the country and undermined the appointment of the national coach by playing my singles matches in the Tokyo Olympics without the presence of the national coach in the field of play.
"In fact and on the contrary, I have served my country and TTFI in the best possible way by playing my matches alone," she wrote.
Manika also questioned TTFI for not taking action against Roy.
"I have been falsely charged with 'bringing disrepute to the country by the sight of an empty chair of the coach'. But the truth is that the 'empty chair' was the result of the national coach's pressure tactics for match fixing and TTFI's inaction to act on my prompt reporting of that incident and not the result of my so-called 'indiscipline'.
"Unfortunately, when I raised the issue of the match fixing pressure tactics by the national coach again in my e-mail dated 14'th August 2021, TTFI refuted this issue outright without even a preliminary, impartial and transparent inquiry.
"Finally, to reiterate and summarise, I have done nothing wrong in playing my matches alone," she asserted.
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8 cheetahs from Africa to arrive at MP's Kuno National Park on Saturday
Sheopur (MP) (PTI): Eight more cheetahs will be airlifted from Africa and brought to Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning, an official said on Friday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav will release the big cats into enclosures readied at the park under the ongoing cheetah revival programme in India via intercontinental translocations, he added.
The batch from Botswana, comprising six females and two males, will fly to Gwalior between 9 pm and 10 pm on an Indian Air Force aircraft, Cheetah Project Director Uttam Sharma told PTI.
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From Gwalior, two IAF helicopters will transport the cheetahs to Kuno National Park, where they are expected to arrive between 9 am and 10 am on Saturday. The flight duration from Botswana to Gwalior will be around nine to 10 hours, he said.
This will be the third batch of cheetahs arriving from Africa, following earlier introductions from Namibia and South Africa, he added.
With this, the number of cheetahs in India will rise to 46.
Sharma said enclosures have been prepared at the park, where the cheetahs will remain in quarantine for about a month.
The park has five helipads to facilitate their safe landing, he added.
Like the last time, the IAF will assist the cheetah revival programme by bringing them from Africa, just as it did when transporting the cursorial animal from SA in February 2023, Sharma said.
Earlier, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia to Gwalior on a private jet in September 2022, after which IAF helicopters transported them to the park, he said.
"The arrival of more cheetahs will strengthen India's cheetah revival programme. With the support of the central government, we aim to increase the population to 50 as soon as possible," Sharma said.
Three big cats were later relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, while 35 remain at Kuno National Park, he said.
According to officials, endangered animals are not kept in a single habitat due to the risk of disease outbreaks that can wipe out their entire population at one go.
The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, became extinct in India nearly seven decades ago.
Last year, India saw the birth of 12 cubs, though six, including three cubs, did not survive. This year, between February 7 and February 18, eight cubs were born in two litters.
In all, 39 cubs have been born at KNP since 2023, of which 27 have survived.
Namibia-born Jwala and Aasha, South Africa-born Gamini, Veera and Nirva, and India-born Mukhi have all produced litters at KNP, officials said.
Three cheetahs have been moved to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district, while 35 remain at KNP, they added.
