NEW DELHI: The sports ministry on Wednesday suspended the recognition of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to run the sport, citing governance issues within the federation.In its order, the ministry said the TTFI had failed to hold its elections on time. The decision came after the federation gave an “unsatisfactory response” to a show-cause notice issued by the ministry earlier this year.“The IOA, in consultation with the international body (ITTF) will take appropriate action to create an internal regulatory mechanism, including the constitution of an ad-hoc committee, till such time that a duly constituted governance structure is restored in TTFI,” the ministry order stated.The TTFI is currently headed by Meghna Ahlawat, its first woman president. She is the wife of Haryana MLA Dushyant Chautala, whose father Ajay Singh Chautala is a former TTFI president. Ahlawat took charge in December 2022.The federation has faced several issues in recent months. In January, it suspended its secretary general and former player Kamlesh Mehta, citing alleged financial irregularities. Mehta challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court, which later quashed his suspension.The suspension was widely linked to an internal power struggle within the federation, PTI reported. TTFI rejected that claim and said the action was taken “solely to safeguard transparency, collective decision-making, and the long-term interests of Indian table tennis.”The federation also came under scrutiny after star player Manika Batra was left out of the Asian Games squad because she did not have the required domestic match exposure.Batra criticised the decision publicly and sought the Sports Ministry’s intervention, alleging that the federation’s selection process was ambiguous and unfair.The ministry subsequently took note of the issues and issued a show-cause notice to TTFI. Ministry sources said the federation’s response was not convincing enough.The ministry also said the TTFI had failed in its responsibility towards athlete welfare, pointing to the delay in conducting the National Championships last year.The federation is due to hold elections this year, but it has not announced when the process will begin.The ministry said the TTFI had failed to follow the principles of accountability and democratic functioning expected from a National Sports Federation. It also accused the body of having “repeatedly disregarded directions and guidelines” issued by the ministry.The TTFI had previously been suspended in February 2022 by the Delhi High Court after Batra challenged the selection policy that had resulted in her exclusion from that year’s Asian Championships.The court had ordered the appointment of an administrator and said it was “appalled” by the “sorry state of affairs” in the federation. The TTFI was restored in December 2022 after fresh elections.
