TTFI crisis: Ex-consultant says selection criteria diluted after elected panel took charge
Vasanth Bharadwaj, a former consultant to the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), has expressed disappointment over the dilution of selection criteria after an elected dispensation took over the federation. His remarks come amid the Sports Ministry's suspension of the TTFI's elected executive committee.
Bharadwaj, who has been associated with Indian table tennis for over five decades, was part of a Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the Delhi High Court in 2022. He co-founded Tenvic Sports with former India cricket captain Anil Kumble and helped devise the selection criteria for the TTFI during the CoA's tenure.
Speaking about the current state of affairs, Bharadwaj said the federation's functioning has been inefficient and not focused on athletes. "They operate in such an inefficient manner. Nobody over there seems to have the motivation to look after the athletes," he said. He added that he felt partly responsible because the CoA could not complete its job.
Bharadwaj criticised the long-standing differences between the TTFI president and secretary, which he said have affected the entire ecosystem. He stressed that a player-centric approach is essential, regardless of who is in charge. "If the fundamental approach is not player-centric, irrespective of the personnel you have in place, there is nothing you can do," he said.
He also highlighted the need for better support for players like Manika Batra, suggesting that the federation should have helped her plan for the Asian Games selection well in advance. "A well-meaning official could have sat Manika down three months ahead of Asian Games selection and helped her plan for the qualification," he said.
On the selection policy, Bharadwaj recalled the criteria devised during the CoA's tenure, which gave primacy to domestic performances for junior players. He noted that for under-15s, an 80:20 formula was suggested (80% domestic, 20% international), and for under-17s, a 70:30 formula. For seniors, the CoA had proposed a 50% weightage for international performances, 40% for domestic, and 10% subjective. However, the elected dispensation reversed the ratio to 40% for world rankings and 50% for domestic.
"Our main idea was that those who perform consistently on the world circuit should feature in India's team for major tournaments and deserve to be given a bit of leeway from participating in domestic tournaments in an already crammed calendar," Bharadwaj explained.
The former consultant also expressed concern over the treatment of doubles format. He said that since most major world events include doubles matches, which often prove decisive, he had initiated doubles events in every National Ranking Tournament for seniors. "Even that has got diluted. All these factors make me wonder whether we are putting the athletes first," he said.
Looking ahead, Bharadwaj called for urgent efforts to put the house in order. He noted that with as many as 30 players ranked in the top 100 across age groups, Indian table tennis should be in a much better shape. "But we are struggling to keep our house in order. It's something that has to be done on a priority basis," he said.
The Sports Ministry's suspension order had criticised the TTFI's selection policy, among other issues. A new Committee of Administrators is expected to be appointed to manage the federation's affairs.
