Table tennis star Soumyajit Ghosh denies rape charges, federation mulls suspension

CHENNAI: Days after the Mohammed Shami incident, Indian sports has been rocked again by scandalous allegations.

Table tennis star Soumyajit Ghosh has been accused of rape by an 18-year-old girl, a week before the Indian team is set to depart for the Commonwealth Games. The charges have put the paddler's participation in doubt.

The girl claimed to have been in a relationship with Ghosh for close to three years, during which she alleged she was raped and forced to undergo an abortion. She also claimed that her parents were duped of money by the Ghosh family, under the false pretense of marriage.

The victim went to Barasat Women's Police Station in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal and lodged a complaint, where the 24-year-old table tennis player was booked under IPC sections for rape, criminal conspiracy, causing miscarriage without the woman's consent and cheating, the police said.

The World No 58, currently taking part in the 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open, has denied the charges. “All this is false. I agree we were in a relationship. I never hid it. During my Arjuna award presentation, I even took her and her mother along with me to New Delhi. This news has devastated me and I'm heartbroken that it has happened so close to the CWG. I had planned to come back to India before departing for Gold Coast but now… I'm talking to my lawyer and hopefully the legal problems will be sorted out as soon as possible,” an emotional Ghosh told Express from Germany over phone.

Table Tennis Federation of India secretary general MP Singh admitted that the charges against the player are severe and that they were considering suspending him pending the completion of investigations “There are chances that he might be suspended. We are not against him but such charges cannot be tolerated in sport. We have called an emergency governing council meeting and our verdict will be out in 48 hours,” Singh said.

The Indian men's contingent also includes G Sathiyan, A Sharath Kamal, Anthony Amalraj and Harmeet Desai.