New Delhi:
In CCTV footage that has uncovered a scandal, a sports coach and a girl player are seen scuffling outside a hotel room in Andhra Pradesh and some girls are seen coming out of the coach's room late at night.
The footage recorded on December 26 involves a junior table tennis team from Chhattisgarh, which was participating in a championship in Andhra Pradesh.
In the widely circulated clip, a man later identified as the 19-year-old coach of the table tennis team, appears to be dragging a player out of her room. The girl is seen struggling.
After an initial inquiry, the Chhattisgarh State Table Tennis Association has suspended the coach. The player was also suspended, but no reason was given.
The association's general secretary, Amitabh Shukla, has resigned after the footage went public, sparking a controversy.
The association's president, Sharad Shukla, told NDTV, "We found out that the player and coach were fighting over a mobile phone, which was seen on the CCTV footage. This is a fight over a telephone and nothing else."
The incident has drawn attention to the fact that a 19-year-old man was hired as a coach for the girls' team.
"We have asked for an independent and neutral inquiry. We are really unhappy about the nomination of a 19-year-old as coach. We will take a serious view and will take action," Dhanraj Choudhary, general secretary of Table Tennis Federation of India, told NDTV.