Run-in between Batra and TTFI?

[zeio]

About time to catch up on Batra. Best of luck once again to WTT India (here and here).

Batra's X post after missing out on Aichi-Nagoya 2026
2026/6/19
https://x.com/manikabatra_TT/status/2067821768501522749

Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) on X

I urge Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, our Sports Minister @mansukhmandviya ji and @WeAreTeamIndia to look into the matter 🙏🙏🙏 https://t.co/VuyaBvTyKT

x.com

Timeline
2026/6/18
India’s Asian Games 2026 table tennis team: Sreeja Akula, G Sathiyan in squad; Manika Batra named in reserves
https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-2026-indian-table-tennis-team-squad

The squad was picked in accordance with the federation’s selection policy, which allocates 50 per cent weightage to national rankings, 40 per cent to world rankings and 10 per cent to the discretion of the selection committee.

Arguably one of India’s most decorated paddlers, the 31-year-old Manika Batra failed to make the main squad and was named among the reserves.

Her omission from the core group stemmed from her absence from domestic tournaments, which meant she did not feature in the national rankings despite being the second-best ranked Indian table tennis player in women’s singles internationally.

2026/6/19
Manika Batra seeks Union Sports Minister’s intervention for Asian Games exclusion
https://www.thehindu.com/sport/mani...for-asian-games-exclusion/article71120683.ece

2026/6/24
Manika Batra Hints at Legal Action Over Asian Games Snub, Rejects Special Favours Narrative
https://revsportz.in/manika-batra-h...games-snub-rejects-special-favours-narrative/
EXCLUSIVE: TTFI explains Manika Batra’s Asian Games 2026 omission
https://revsportz.in/exclusive-ttfi-explains-manika-batras-asian-games-2026-omission/

Explaining the final decision, TTFI also revealed that after a long discussions among selectors, “Ms Sutirtha Mukherjee secured eight votes” for the fifth and final spot in of the team. They also mentioned Swastika Ghosh received six votes while Batra secured only two which reflects the collective decision of the selection committee.

2026/6/25
Manika Batra's Asian Games doors remain firmly shut: Table tennis federation source
https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/ot...nis-federation-asian-games-2933851-2026-06-25

 

[Janard]

Maybe this will spur the current team to be even more motivated to win a medal and prove Batra wrong

 

[zeio]

The bigger question is why did Batra not have a national ranking?

 

[NextLevel]

The bigger question is why did Batra not have a national ranking?

Yeah, something about this sounds very inconsistent:

"However, the TTFI’s selection policy, framed in November 2023 after a series of selection-related controversies and court cases, follows a structured points-based system. The policy allocates 50% weightage to national rankings, 40% to international rankings and 10% to selectors’ ratings."

If this was transparently obvious, then it is clearly Batra's fault. But I suspect there is a nuance and timing that the article is not being transparent about.

 

[zeio]

Posting the Selection Policy below as TTFI has blocked international access to its official site recently (since early 2026?).

Selection Policy
https://www.ttfi.org/pages/index/moyas
https://www.ttfi.org/uploads/pdf/webinfo/2023/SelectionPolicyTTFI9thMay2023.pdf

Selection Committee
https://www.ttfi.org/uploads/pdf/webinfo/2022/SR_Selector_17-Sept_2023.pdf

https://www.ttfi.org/uploads/pdf/webinfo/2022/JT_Selector_17-Sept-2023.pdf

 

[Singshasha]

Yeah, something about this sounds very inconsistent:

"However, the TTFI’s selection policy, framed in November 2023 after a series of selection-related controversies and court cases, follows a structured points-based system. The policy allocates 50% weightage to national rankings, 40% to international rankings and 10% to selectors’ ratings."

If this was transparently obvious, then it is clearly Batra's fault. But I suspect there is a nuance and timing that the article is not being transparent about.

According to TTFI, Batra did not hold a national ranking.

Does that mean she did not take part in any national ranking competition?
Or did she take part but loss early to not be ranked and ending up with zero points.

This policy sounds straight forward with points adding together so why did she score 0 points in the 50? Sounds like her own doing.

 

[NextLevel]

According to TTFI, Batra did not hold a national ranking.

Does that mean she did not take part in any national ranking competition?
Or did she take part but loss early to not be ranked and ending up with zero points.

This policy sounds straight forward with points adding together so why did she score 0 points in the 50? Sounds like her own doing.

It *looks* straightforward but I am working under the assumption that players usually know obvious things. Sometimes, things like timing, whether the ranking was about an average or a particular date are all nuanced. It seems that the cutoff was ittf ranking 50 for automatic qualification without national points but her ranking was 51. Which makes her not being selected by the coaches to be very questionable. But in the end, everyone will live and learn. Sreeja who had no domestic ranking points either but was 47 internationally made the team.

Manika Batra dropped from Asian Games squad

Her absence from the national circuit — and thus the national rankings — meant she lost the selectors’ votes

www.hindustantimes.com

TTFI’s selection committee named a 10-member squad of five men and five women, “selecting players primarily based on world and national rankings,” as per a TTFI statement. Although Manika is ranked 51st in the world and is India’s No. 2 in women’s singles, her absence from the national circuit — and thus the national rankings — meant she lost the selectors’ votes.

Had Manika been in the top 50, she would have been an automatic pick. World No.45 Sreeja Akula is in the squad despite being 27th in the latest national rankings.

“As per the selection criteria, those in the top 50 of the international rankings get automatically selected. For the others, there is weightage given to international and domestic rankings, and points from those are considered,” Kamlesh Mehta, TTFI secretary general, told HT.

It is interesting that we don't see that featured in what @zeio posted. Again, all weird.