The Indian table tennis team has courted controversy in the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
India, who went into the tournament as defending champions in the women's team event lost to the Malaysian side in the quarterfinals.
The designated women's coach of the Indian team, Anindita Chakraborty, was conspicuous by her absence in the knockout fixture. Instead, men's coach S Raman sat on the courtside.
"This should not have happened, women's coach should have been guiding the players in the match. I will take this up with the team," said S D Mudgil, member of the Committee of Administrators running the suspended Table Tennis Federation of India.
Raman, who happens to be the personal coach of male player G Sathiyan, was seen coaching Reeth Rishya as the quarterfinal went down to the wire.
After the shocking loss, the Manika Batra-led squad did not even stop for the media interaction, which is a standard protocol in all multi-sporting events.
"It was very close. Combinations were totally different for us. A defensive player, a left-hander, and a right-hander mix-up was a little challenging for us. The girls fought hard and it was an off day," said Raman after the unexpected result.
Malaysia have reached the gold medal clash.
Team sources confirmed that all is not well in the camp.
"The atmosphere in the team is the not best, let's just say that. The women's coach should have been sitting courtside since she knows more about the players. Don't know why Raman decided to sit instead," the source said.
(Inputs from PTI)
