ITTF to Probe AGM Disruption Following Sorling’s Re-Election

An investigation will be carried out into the disruption that followed Petra Sorling’s re-election as President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) at the Annual General Meeting in Doha on May 27.

The meeting was suspended after being disrupted by outsiders in response to the election outcome. Sorling (Sweden) won a narrow victory, receiving 104 votes against 102 secured by the Federation’s senior executive vice-president, Khalil Al-Mohannadi (Qatar). The investigation will aim to identify those responsible and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in future meetings.

The Federation has maintained that the election process was conducted in strict accordance with its Constitution and Statutes and in full respect of the Member Associations’ rights.

The disturbance is believed to have been caused by supporters of Al-Mohannadi, a figure already mired in controversy. He was removed as Vice-President from 2006 to 2009 after an election was annulled due to bribery. Additionally, whistleblowers had submitted evidence of possible corruption to the ITTF Integrity Unit in the lead-up to the vote.