Qatar table tennis says ‘prepared to escalate’ after chaotic vote

DOHA: Qatar´s table tennis association has warned of possible legal action as it disputes the result of a stormy leadership election for the Olympic sport´s world governing body in Doha.

The Qatari association, whose president Khalil Al-Mohannadi narrowly failed to dislodge Sweden´s Petra Soerling as head of the International Table Tennis Federation, said it was “prepared to escalate” the matter.

Tuesday´s 104-102 vote to Soerling ended in such acrimony that the ITTF´s annual general meeting was suspended. The world body said the assembly was “disrupted by outsiders” after the election result was announced.

A Qatar Table Tennis Association spokesperson, in comments sent to AFP on Monday, said it was “actively reviewing all legal and procedural options... We believe there are sufficient grounds to question the validity of the election process”.

“We are also consulting with legal experts to ensure that, if necessary, we are prepared to escalate the matter through appropriate international sports arbitration channels,” the spokesperson said.

“The outcome of the election cannot be considered settled until all procedural questions have been independently reviewed,” the spokesperson added. On Thursday, the ITTF said it would investigate the disturbance by people, believed to be Mohannadi supporters, who “were neither delegates from member associations, nor members of the executive board, council, committees, or invited guests”.

It said the election was conducted “in strict accordance with the ITTF constitution and statutes” and that it “rejects the misconceived statement by some member associations to recognise any other result”.

After Tuesday´s vote, Soerling told Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter she felt unsafe and left the meeting with the help of staff from the Swedish embassy in Doha. The QTTA spokesperson said “at no point was her safety compromised”, while acknowledging that Soerling “may have felt uncomfortable, as many of us did in what was an emotionally charged and unexpected outcome”.

“We note that in highly politicised environments, it can sometimes benefit certain individuals to sensationalise events,” the spokesperson said, speculating that Soerling may have been “misquoted or misinterpreted”.