International Events | 15 Nov 2022
New ITTF Athletes Commission Members Elected - 5 Europeans on Board
The International Table Tennis Federation announced the ITTF Athletes' Commission election results. The following ten athletes were elected by their peers out of 25 candidates; they will serve a four-year term.
|
Name |
Votes |
Election criteria |
|
SAMARA Elizabeta (ROU, athlete) |
74.91 % |
Highest-voted Athlete from Europe |
|
ACHANTA Sharath Kamal (IND, athlete) |
66.08 % |
Highest-voted Athlete from Asia |
|
RIOS Daniely (PUR, athlete) |
46.64 % |
Highest-voted Athlete from the Americas |
|
ASSAR Omar (EGY, athlete) |
45.94 % |
Highest-voted Athlete from Africa |
|
TAPPER Melissa (AUS, athlete) |
42.40 % |
Highest-voted Athlete from Oceania |
|
FEGERL Stefan (AUT, athlete) |
57.95 % |
Next highest voted Athlete |
|
PERSSON Jon (SWE, athlete) |
57.60 % |
Next highest voted Athlete |
|
LIU Shiwen (CHN, athlete) |
54.77 % |
Next highest voted Athlete |
|
LUNDBACK Ingela (SWE, para-athlete, wheelchair) |
52.26 % |
Highest-voted wheelchair Para-Athlete |
|
VAN ZON Kelly (NED, para-athlete, standing) |
48.39 % |
Highest-voted standing Para-Athlete |
"I feel deep emotion, joy and I am amazed! I am grateful to all of my colleagues who voted for me, there are so many! I feel responsible for each of the players and I just wish not to disappoint them," said SAMARA.
The elections were held between Monday 7 to Sunday 13 November. Voting was online, using LUMI ®. The number of voters among athletes increased by 18% compared with the election held in 2018, while participation of para-athletes almost tripled.
Petra SÖRLING, ITTF President, commented:"I would like to thank all the candidates and congratulate the ten elected athletes. The Executive Committee and I are looking forward to working closely with them. The Athletes Commission is crucial as it links the athletes and the ITTF, ensuring the athletes' priorities and viewpoints are communicated and represented. I am also delighted by the large increase in the number of votes; our athletes are more and more engaged in the future direction of the sport of table tennis."
All members of the Athletes' Commission will be invited to the forthcoming ITTF Summit in December in Amman, Jordan. At the summit, the commission along with IOC Athletes' Commission member RYU Seung-Min, will elect two chairs to sit on the ITTF Executive Committee. For the first time the two chairs will be one man and one woman to ensure gender parity.
Full results and information about the ITTF Athletes' Commission election can be found here..
