A four-member Indian table tennis women's squad - comprising Manika Batra, Archana Kamath, Sreeja Akula and Reeth Rishya - was named for the Commonwealth Games, subject to clearance from the Sports Authority of India, after Archana Kamath was included in the side despite not meeting the existing criteria.
The 129th-ranked Diya Chitale was the standby.
Kamath is the second highest-ranked Indian player at 66 after the 39-th ranked Manika Batra. Experienced players Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee were ignored.
"Under the existing selection criteria, one of the members (Archana) falls outside the top four. The selection committee is convinced that the existing guidelines are "flawed" and has moved to make necessary course-correction, with new guidelines effective from October 1," S. D. Mudgil, CoA representative and chairperson of the selection committee said.
"However, in this transitionary phase, with an eye on a rich medal haul in Birmingham, we have included the said player in the team. She (Archana Kamath) is one half of the doubles pair (Manika the other) that is ranked No. 4 in the world and which will be the top seeds at the Commonwealth Games.
"Therefore, the selection committee feels that this is a case worthy of consideration by SAI." The men's team which has been picked is a more straightforward one, consisting of Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai. Manush Shah will be the standby.
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