TT player Soumyajit Ghosh marries girl who accused him of rape

Indian table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh has married the woman, who accused him of rape, four months after his career nose-dived owing to the crisis.

Things went haywire for the 25-year-old paddler as he attained a career-high 58th in the International Table Tennis Federation rankings, before being accused.

This year in March, he was accused of rape by an 18-year-old, that led to the two-time Olympian and India's youngest ever national champion hitting rock bottom.

"They say a sportsperson in India has to go through a lot to achieve something. The grind prepares you for the worst but what happened with me four months ago hit me hard and hit me out of nowhere. I did not know how to deal with it," Ghosh said.

"Everyone thought about the girl. That she was young. I was young too. If she was a minor, I was 22 when we started dating. I am still young. Having said that, there is no point looking back. I rather look ahead. Hope my court case is over soon and I get back to training," he added.

The skilful player will reportedly miss the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia.

An FIR against Ghosh was filed raised when he was playing in Germany. Fearing arrest on arrival in India, he chose to stay back in Europe and stayed in three-four different countries before returning home in May.

"It was only during that time, I found out who were actually my well-wishers. I was devastated. I was at the peak of my career, playing for a good club in Germany and then something like this happens.

"I would not name them yet but I survived that phase because of just two people and my parents of course," he said.

His teammates, the veteran Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai -- also stood by him.

Meanwhile, the accuser and now wife of Ghosh said she will speak to the lawyer and ensure that her husband's future is not jeopardised.

"I have no idea about the legal formalities but I will speak to the lawyer and ensure that my husband's future is not jeopardised. It's a fresh beginning for both of us and we will do our best to overcome the misunderstandings and live happily," she said.

Ghosh's legal troubles could be over soon if gone by what wife said.