Recently-retired Indian table tennis great A Sharath Kamal has given himself 11 years to produce the country's first Olympic medallist in the racket sport and German football club Borussia Dortmund could end up being his unlikely ally in pursuit of this path-breaking dream.
The high court had on September 23 stayed the TTFI's rule mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events and had asked the Centre to conduct an inquiry into Batra's complaint against the sports body. On Friday, the court was informed by the Centre's counsel Apoorv Kurup that the enquiry report was ready and the judge asked them to file it in a sealed cover before it.
Coaches Jayanta Pushilal and S Raman have been nominated for the Dronacharya honour.
Sharath Kamal's illustrious two-decade career came to an end on Saturday as he lost to Snehit Suravajjula in the men's singles round of 16 match at the WTT Star Contender 2025.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) on Tuesday termed Manika Batra's decision to not take the help of national coach Soumyadeep Roy during her matches at the Tokyo Olympics as a brazen 'act of indiscipline'.
'For the next nine months to one year I would still be an active player.'
The Delhi High Court Monday sought the Centre's stand on a petition by Manika Batra, who was left out of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships, assailing Table Tennis Federation of India's (TTFI) mandate of compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp in order to be selected.
Former India captain Anil Kumble's company Tenvic will be creating a module for the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) that will produce quality coaches in years to come. The company will be creating content for a three-tier 'Certified Trainers' Course' in which aspiring coaches will get state-of-the-art training to become table tennis coaches.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has decided against hiring a foreign coach for the Rio Olympics, a move that will adversely affect the players preparation, especially the women's team, for the Summer Games in August next year.
Veteran table tennis player A Sharath Kamal on Friday said he was "pretty surprised" at being named India's flagbearer at the Paris Olympics ahead of people like Tokyo Games gold-winner Neeraj Chopra and described the honour as a recognition of his years of toil.
Paralympic star Kumar Nitesh cites BAI apathy, wants badminton to be placed under PCI as para shuttlers needed to be treated on par with their able-bodied counterparts.
Veteran Sharath Kamal and world no. 24 Manika Batra will lead the Indian men's and women's squads respectively at the Paris Games, where the country will make its Olympic debut in team events.
'As of now, there's no update from the Railways. The scheduled time (of departure) here is 4am but we doubt the train will start from Chennai tonight'
India's leading table tennis player Harmeet Desai feels he has been "unfairly" left out of the singles competition for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Justice Rekha Palli, who was hearing Batra's petition alleging that the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner and targeting certain individuals such as herself, said that based on the committee's report, she would consider the issue of appointing an administrator to run the national sports body.
India's table tennis star Manika Batra 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 during the Tokyo Games.
Janendra Jain and Parth Goswami are the two lawyers in the panel while Yashpal Rana is the other member.
World C'ships: Sajan Prakash finishes 25th, fails to progress to final
40-year-old Sharath showed that age was just a number.
Former Indian table tennis chief coach, Massimo Costantini has expressed interest in taking up the top job with the Table Tennis Federation of India, which has in turn asked the Italian to revert back with his terms and conditions.
The postponement of Tokyo Olympics to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic has given India's table tennis squad more time to prepare and given the current scenario, the sport's governing body TTFI is looking to fill the head coach's position locally rather than hiring a foreign coach. The head coach position has been lying vacant since the 2018 Asian Games due to multiple factors.
Star paddler Manika Batra was left out of the India squad for the Asian Championships, beginning September 28 in Doha, after failing to attend the mandatory national camp in Sonepat.
Swede Anders Johansson's decision to turn down the offer of coaching the Indian table tennis team is set to affect the country's paddlers' preparation for the upcoming international tournaments and more importantly the 2012 London Olympics.
Asian Games gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday donated a total of Rs 3 lakh to the central and Haryana state relief funds to combat the coronavirus pandemic in India. Chopra is currently in self-isolation at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala after flying back from a training trip in Turkey.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will make a fresh attempt to organise a training camp at the end of June but top players including Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are not ready to travel anytime soon as the situation remains "unsafe".
Sharath will be honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the country's highest sports recognition, later this month.
All these male politicians are unlikely to risk their sinecures to speak up in support of a bunch of women wrestlers who have chosen to challenge a politician who appears to have the ruling regime in a stranglehold, points out Kanika Datta.
Batra created history in Gold Coast, single-handedly taking India to a maiden team gold before winning a singles gold, another first.
Following the Sports Ministry's directive asking all National Sports Federations to fall in line with the Sports Code, the Table Tennis Federation of India has amended its constitution by incorporating the provisions with regard to age and tenure.
Diya Chitale and Manush Shah had also sought the HC's intervention in the matter.
Her personal coach Sanmay Paranjape was controversially cleared to travel with her to the Tokyo, but not allowed to stay at the Games Village with the national team.
Olympic trials: TTFI seeks MEA's help in getting visa for para contingent.
'I would like to thank the Government, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and most importantly, my family, who has been there for me and motivated me along this journey'
India's table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh has been provisionally suspended by his country's governing body after an 18-year-old woman filed a rape allegation against him with the police.
With the jailed Ajay Singh Chautala on his way out after completing three terms, former Indian Administrative Service officer PC Chaturvedi is tipped to become the new president of the Table Tennis Federation of India when the body holds its Annual General Meeting on March 17.
A complaint has been lodged at the Barasat women's police station in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, where the 24-year-old Arjuna awardee has been booked under the IPC sections for rape, criminal conspiracy, causing miscarriage without the woman's consent and cheating, the police said.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
With just a month left for the London Games, Olympic-bound Indian paddlers Soumyajit Ghosh and Ankita Das will leave for Zhengding, China on Sunday for a 16-day long training camp.
Hyderabad will host the World Table Tennis Championship scheduled in 2013, TTFI general secretary Dhanraj Choudhary said on Sunday.
Indian paddlers' long wait for a foreign coach has finally come to an end with the Table Tennis Federation of India appointing Poland's Leszek Kucharski for the job on a one-year contract.
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