Latest news with #KhalilAlMohannadi
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
ITTF to probe AGM disruption after presidential election
May 31 (Reuters) - The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said it will investigate the disruption that forced the suspension of its annual general meeting in Doha this week after the re-election of Petra Sorling as president. The disruption started when Sorling, the ITTF's first female president, was re-elected until 2029 with 104 votes to the 102 received by her Qatari opponent, Khalil Al-Mohannadi. "After the presidential election had already concluded, the AGM had to be suspended following the disruption initiated by individuals who were neither delegates from member associations, nor members of the executive board, council, committees, or invited guests," the ITTF said in a statement on Thursday. "The ITTF regrets and strongly condemns the disruption. It will conduct an investigation to determine the various responsibilities and take measures, in particular, to avoid a similar disruption from happening in the future." The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) also released a statement claiming there had been discrepancies in the online voting and calling for an independent and transparent review of the election. "We are prepared to cooperate with any independent investigation or tribunal, including before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," it said. The ITTF defended the legitimacy of the election process and said it was prepared to address any formal complaints in "the appropriate forum". Sorling decided to leave the meeting because she did not feel safe, as did the Swedish delegation, the Swedish Table Tennis Association (SBTF) said in a statement. The ITTF said it would reconvene the AGM before November this year to address agenda items that could not be completed in Doha.
Washington Post
7 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Olympic official Petra Sörling wins table tennis election in close vote disputed by Qatari opponent
DOHA, Qatar — In a hard-fought election, IOC member Petra Sörling retained the presidency of the International Table Tennis Federation on Tuesday in a 104-102 win over her Qatari opponent. It is rare in Olympic sports elections for an incumbent president and IOC member to be challenged so directly. Supporters of the losing candidate, ITTF senior executive vice president Khalil al-Mohannadi, then called into question the integrity of the vote held after Qatar hosted the world championships. Delegates in an increasingly chaotic election hall in Doha were told the ITTF executive board was going into an emergency session to decide on the next steps. Sörling, re-elected for a second four-year mandate, is one of just three female presidents of a governing body of more than 30 Olympics sports on the Summer Games program. The Swedish official was elected in 2023 as an International Olympics Committee member. Al-Mohannadi has been a member of the ITTF board for most of the past three decades. He left the board for three years from 2006 after an election for deputy president was annulled. That election dispute went to an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport , where the judge found 'convincing evidence that bribery did take place' including offers to reimburse travel expenses. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
7 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Olympic official Petra Sörling wins table tennis election in close vote disputed by Qatari opponent
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — In a hard-fought election, IOC member Petra Sörling retained the presidency of the International Table Tennis Federation on Tuesday in a 104-102 win over her Qatari opponent. It is rare in Olympic sports elections for an incumbent president and IOC member to be challenged so directly. Supporters of the losing candidate, ITTF senior executive vice president Khalil al-Mohannadi, then called into question the integrity of the vote held after Qatar hosted the world championships. Delegates in an increasingly chaotic election hall in Doha were told the ITTF executive board was going into an emergency session to decide on the next steps. Sörling, re-elected for a second four-year mandate, is one of just three female presidents of a governing body of more than 30 Olympics sports on the Summer Games program. The Swedish official was elected in 2023 as an International Olympics Committee member. Al-Mohannadi has been a member of the ITTF board for most of the past three decades. He left the board for three years from 2006 after an election for deputy president was annulled. That election dispute went to an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where the judge found 'convincing evidence that bribery did take place' including offers to reimburse travel expenses. ___ AP sports:
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Qatari Push to Dominate Another Sport, Table Tennis, Draws Scrutiny
In a near-empty venue in a near-empty patch of desert on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar's capital, table tennis stars unfurled deadly slices and killer smashes last week as they vied to be crowned world champion. Behind the scenes, another battle was playing out with just as much ferocity, as a wealthy Qatari businessman sought the presidency of the governing body of international table tennis, the latest example of Gulf interests trying to extend their influence over global sports. For many people, table tennis may evoke images of college dorms or suburban basements, but it is one of the world's most popular sports and a growing commercial force, particularly in East Asia. Interviews with dozens of the sport's current and former officials and players have cast light on the rising power of Gulf nations like Qatar and raised concerns about a history of bribery and lavish spending by Qatari officials, both in table tennis and in other sports. Last Monday, a Swiss whistle-blower who has tangled with Khalil Al-Mohannadi, the Qatari businessman who hopes to be elected president of the International Table Tennis Federation this week, was detained at the sport's world championships in Doha. The man, Georg Silberschmidt, a former official with Swiss Table Tennis, was surrounded by more than 20 security personnel and taken into custody after passing out fliers for a new players' union meant to promote athletes' rights. For 24 hours, he and two employees of the players' union were interrogated, put in prison cells and pressured to sign documents in Arabic, a language they do not speak. A member of the union was shown a photo of Mr. Silberschmidt by a representative of the Qatar Table Tennis Association and told that the Swiss man had broken the law. Mr. Silberschmidt and the two other people detained were later released without charges and left the country. 'I don't think I will ever go back to Qatar,' Mr. Silberschmidt said. The International Table Tennis Federation's presidential election is Tuesday, and its integrity unit is investigating whether Mr. Al-Mohannadi or people supporting him are trying to influence the vote through monetary means, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The integrity unit declined to confirm or comment on specific cases under investigation. But in a statement to The New York Times, the federation said that because of 'the significance of our upcoming elections,' it had 'engaged leading professional support specialized in the sector to ensure compliance and enforcement.' 'In response to recent allegations concerning certain candidates, we reiterate our absolute commitment to free, fair and clean elections,' the statement said. Mr. Al-Mohannadi, who is currently the federation's senior executive vice president, did not respond to repeated queries from The New York Times. Few people in the table tennis world are willing to criticize him publicly. His rivals in the presidential election are the Swedish incumbent, Petra Sörling, and Mohamed El Hacen Ahmed Salem of Mauritania. Mr. Al-Mohannadi has been associated with the federation for decades. After he was elected its deputy president in 2005, accusations mounted that the Qatar Table Tennis Association had engaged in vote-buying. Delegates spoke of money stuffed in envelopes and travel expenses being covered in return for support from nations in Africa and Eastern Europe. The case was brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. After receiving testimony from more than a dozen witnesses who described a range of electoral irregularities, the arbitrator ruled that there was 'convincing evidence that bribery did take place.' The election was annulled, and Mr. Al-Mohannadi did not run in the next one, held in 2006. But in 2014, he was again voted in as deputy president. Though there is little local interest in table tennis in Qatar, it has hosted the world championships twice. Mr. Al-Mohannadi, who used to work for the Qatari government as an under secretary and at the state broadcaster, has promoted the sport for more than 30 years. 'When we say Qatar has become the home of world table tennis, we are not exaggerating,' Mr. Al-Mohannadi told local news media. In recent years, Qatar has been raising its global profile through sports. It has naturalized athletes from other nations to compete in the Olympics and has played host to major international events, most famously the men's soccer World Cup in 2022. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, officials for FIFA, soccer's governing body, were bribed to vote for Qatar to host that tournament, in what many consider one of the dirtiest votes in sports history. Qatar denies all the allegations. Qatar has also held world championships in athletics, handball and artistic gymnastics. On the eve of the table tennis championships in Doha, Qatari officials boasted that tickets had sold fast. Chinese fans, who are among the sport's most avid, complained that they couldn't get seats. But at many of the early matches, the stands were devoid of spectators, except for officials and players' entourages. There are 227 member associations in the table tennis federation — more than in the United Nations — and each voting representative in the election Tuesday is eligible for about a weeklong stay in Qatar, with flights and luxury accommodations covered. In 2021, Swiss Table Tennis and its German counterpart raised various concerns about Mr. Al-Mohannadi, including his ownership of a Qatari sports company that imported table tennis equipment, something that the federation's rules appear to forbid. (Mr. Al-Mohannadi eventually transferred the company to a family member.) The federation's then-president suspended Mr. Al-Mohannadi from his vice-presidential duties over those concerns. But an internal investigation by the federation absolved Mr. Al-Mohannadi. Board members who were supportive of him said they had lost faith in the president, who left the federation soon afterward. Swiss Table Tennis, under new leadership, later apologized for its complaint against Mr. Al-Mohannadi, singling out Mr. Silberschmidt, who had left the organization for unrelated reasons, for responsibility. Several officials with the international federation who had conflicts with Mr. Al-Mohannadi and his supporters have left their jobs. Mr. Al-Mohannadi is also a director of World Table Tennis, the federation's commercial arm, which is run through a web of companies that extends across three continents and several tax havens. Five people who served on table tennis boards with Mr. Al-Mohannadi said he was rarely interested in the details of governance, often staying away from meetings for long stretches of time. He occasionally spoke up to complain that the hotel suites in which federation officials were staying were lacking, they said. The current accommodations for federation delegates who have gathered in Doha for the election on Tuesday, one member from the Caribbean said, are 'spectacular.'
Washington Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Historic year for female Olympic leaders sees table tennis president face election challenge
GENEVA — Ahead of the IOC's first female president formally taking over next month, one of the few women leading an Olympic sport faces an election challenge. The International Table Tennis Federation's president since 2021, Petra Sörling, is in a May 27 contest against men from Qatar and Mauritania. The vote in Doha after the world championships shapes to be between the Swedish incumbent and the host nation's Khalil al-Mohannadi, a veteran of ITTF politics since 1997.
