CWG 2022: Delhi High Court dismisses plea of 2 paddlers against boycott
The Delhi High Court on Monday (June 20) dismissed petitions challenging the exclusion of table tennis players Manush Shah and Swastika Ghosh from the Indian team for the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Players are approaching the High Court after they were dropped from the final list of Commonwealth Games squad by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) that runs the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
“The petitioner is ranked fourth in the national ranking and as per the current criterion combined points of both national and international rankings, she has 41 points + 20 coach points which comes to 61 points while Manika Batra has only 30 points She is ranked 33rd in India from international rankings and zero points from India rankings,” the petition filed by Swastika stated.
“It is further submitted that throughout the camp, the focus was only on doubles and to see how the Respondent 1 (TTFI) can include Archana Kamath, G. Sathiyan and Manika Batra as all three may not fit under the existing criteria,” it said.
On 7 June, the CoA said that it had included Diya Chitale in the squad, and finalized the selection list, ending all controversies related to team selection in a detailed minutes of the meeting. The CoA said Cheetale, who had approached the Delhi High Court to be ruled out of the Women’s Commonwealth Games, has been included in the squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Remembering Manika Batra’s CWG 2018 valor on her special day! Happy Birthday @manikabatra_TT!
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She will again lead the charge for India at #CWG2022. Can she do better? pic.twitter.com/R6vMAOTibo – Women’s SportsZone (@WSportsZone) June 15, 2022
It had clarified that the decision reported in the media was only the recommendation of the selection committee and not the final decision of the CoA. The team was supposed to get the final nod from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), but the Sports Ministry said it is the responsibility of the CoA, who is running the federation, to select the team. After that the selection committee chaired by CoA member SD Moudgil met again and finalized the team.
The Commonwealth Games are to be held in Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August.
(with PTI input)