Weikert Elected President

Changes take place in various sports organizations and this time we are hearing this is the first time the 55-year-old has been elected as President after replacing Adham Sharara mid-term in 2014.

Of  the 14 contenders selected they were the one chosen by Weikert and in order of the votes received, they were Shi Zhihao (China), Petra Sörling (Sweden), Masahiro Maehara (Japan), Nestor Tenca (Argentina), Bruce Burton (Canada), James Morris (New Zealand), Alaa Meshref (Egypt) and Khalil Al-Mohannadi from Qatar and to the surprise of many it only took four hours for the votes to be counted.

Weikert told the delegation “I would like to thank my team for all the support they have given me since becoming President and also thank all the National Associations for their confidence in me to continue as President.”

He continued “I promise to keep giving my best to push the sport to new heights and achieve all my goals stated in my manifesto.”

The former German Table Tennis Federation President also claimed afterwards that he planned to serve just one term in office and will not stand again in 2021 and it’s reported that Saive  did not rule out a repeat bid.

The key that was considered by many to be the “turning point” was his (Weikert’s) administrative experience in comparison with an opponent who has never held an ITTF position.

As customary in voting each of the candidates were given 10 minutes to address the floor prior to the voting, which uses a manual non-electronic system.

A timing system and one-minute warning system ensured their presentations did not overrun.

Weikert, who spoke first gave a well-structured speech where he emphasised the continuity and stability he promises to bring to the sport, stating “I want the ITTF to thrive in modern world.”

He continued “This requires strong leadership and experience in the Olympic Movement and these are qualities I possess and I will bring continuity and stability and my plan is to deliver for table tennis with a clear strategic plan and seven key pillars.”

In addition he (Weikert) promised to prioritise “integrity, good governance and transparency” because “people and media want to trust the sport they watch”.

He added: “You can trust me to apply all my international sports and management experience to bring success.”

Saive’s speech was much more emotional and passionate as he mentioned how his mother won a Belgian national title while she was pregnant with him stating “I have table tennis in my genes,” he told delegates.”

Saive spoke at times switching languages stating that he pledged to double development funding, work with manufacturers to resolve problems regarding table tennis paddles and avoid any competition rule changes for the next three years.

He also pointed to his experience within the Belgian Olympic Committee, the European Olympic Committees – where he is chair of the Athletes’ Commission – and the Association of National Olympic Committees.

He ended by stating “I really I hope can be your new ITTF President and that we can do it together.”

Politics aside there seemed to be a concern or a row between both Weikert and Sharara, who became the first ITTF chair after resigning as President and this alone could have been the reason why the change was made.

The pair used to be close allies but Weikert has repeatedly accused the Canadian of masterminding Saive’s campaign in recent weeks.

I am hearing from sources that when Sharara extended his hand to shake Weikert’s immediately after it was announced he was elected President, the German shouted “you wanted to destroy me” and refused any handshake.

Weikert did, however, join a standing ovation soon afterwards to mark Sharara’s departure as chair.

A process is now beginning to select a replacement.

Sharara chaired all of the AGM today except for the election portion, and there were several occasions when a difference of opinion emerged.

This included whether four countries officially rubber-stamped as ITTF members today – Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Bahamas – could vote in the subsequent elections.

Weikert had said they could not but Sharara interjected to cite the ITTF constitution and successfully argue that they could, although Cape Verde were the only one of the four to do so as only they had a voting delegates present.

In total there were only 161 countries represented with the remaining 47 voters doing so via a pre-determined proxy.

The first scheduled date for the  meeting of the new ITTF Executive Committee is June 5.

Thanks to Nick Butler.