Al-Mohannadi Withdraws from the ITTF Presidential Race

May 10, 2017
10:12 am
Member Associations

Qatar’s Khalil AL-MOHANNADI has withdrawn his nomination for the ITTF Presidency and has announced that he will run for the position of ITTF Executive Vice President at the ITTF elections to be held on 31 May 2017 in Dusseldorf Germany.

AL-MOHANNADI who is the current Qatar Table Tennis Association President Arab Table Tennis Federation President and ITTF Deputy President explained why he took this decision: “I would like to thank all the National Associations who contacted me to support my nomination to become the ITTF President on the back of my dedication to table tennis through a number of high level positions since 1995.”

“After long discussions with my friends and most importantly my family even though I believe I had a strong chance of winning the election I have decided to run for a position on the ITTF Executive Committee.”

AL-MOHANNADI’s withdrawal means that the race to become the ITTF President will be between the current ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT from Germany and Belgium’s Jean-Michel SAIVE.

“I respect both the nominations of Thomas WEIKERT and Jean-Michel SAIVE to become the ITTF President ” continued AL-MOHANNADI. “However I have decided to support Thomas WEIKERT’s candidacy for the Presidency. Thomas has had two and a half years as President where he has made positive changes to the sport and I believe he deserves to be elected as President in his home country and have four more years to continue to work and implement his vision for our sport.”

“Jean-Michael SAIVE was a great player and ambassador for table tennis which we all respect him for. Despite that Jean-Michel has never held a high level international political table tennis position. So I don’t believe it is correct that his first position is that of ITTF President. But of course if he wins I will be the first to congratulate him.” concluded the Qatari.

The ITTF elections will take place during the ITTF AGM starting at 9am on 31 May 2017 in Dusseldorf Germany.

For a full list of nominees for all positions please visit: http://www.ittf.com/meetings-non-sporting-events/2017-wttc/.

ETTU Secretary General KASS Attends Reception Celebrating 50 Years of China–EU Diplomatic Relations

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, ETTU Secretary General Pierre KASS was honored to attend a special reception hosted at...

Music, Drama, and Champions: Danish Table Tennis Titles Decided in Aalborg

Last weekend, the Danish Table Tennis Championships delivered an unforgettable spectacle in Aalborg, held alongside 35 other sports as part of a nationwide sports celebration. The finals took place in...

HB Ostrov z.s. Claims Historic First Europe Cup Title

Czech club HB Ostrov z.s. secured their first-ever Europe Cup title after defeating SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA in both legs of the all-Czech final. Vladislav URSU, Andrej GACINA, and...

Europe Cup Glory for Saint-Denis TT 93 in Women’s Final

French club Saint-Denis TT 93 clinched the Europe Cup Women’s title, repeating their success from the 2020/21 season. This evening, they overcame SKST Plus Hodonín in Czechia, needing just four...