Now TT player Archana Kamath moves court after exclusion from CWG squad

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New Delhi, June 16: Rising woman paddler Archana Kamath is the latest table tennis player to move court after she was dropped from the Indian team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, further deepening the chaos surrounding the selection of the side for July 28-August 8 quadrennial event.

Archana was initially included in the table tennis squad as an 'exception' as she did not meet the selection criteria laid down by TTFI, but was suddenly dropped by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and Diya Chitale was brought in her place.

Shocked by sudden ouster from the squad, Archana, the world no. 4 player in women's doubles along with Manika Batra, has filed a writ petition at the Karnataka High Court against the Government of India, TTFI, Sports Authority of India and other members of the women's team.

The High Court has instructed all the parties to appear before it on the next hearing, which is scheduled on June 22. The CoA had earlier announced an eight-member squad in Bangalore with the women's team subject to clearance from Sports Authority of India.

As per the original list, the selection committee had picked Manika Batra, Archana, Sreeja Akula and Reeth Rishya in the team with Chitale as the standby. The men's team included veteran Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty with Manush as a reserve.

The team selection factors in performances in domestic (50 percent) and international tournaments (30 percent) while the remaining 20 percent is left for the selectors' discretion. However, the CoA has decided to change the ratio to 40, 40 and 20 from next season. The CoA's decisions did not go down well with several players with the likes of Chitale, Manush Shah, Swastika Ghosh moving the court before Archana.