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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡
● Table Tennis ● The International Table Tennis Federation issued a long statement on Thursday about the chaotic, high-decibel Presidential election held at Tuesday’s Annual General Meeting, which resulted in the re-election of Petra Sorling (SWE), but also an hour-long screaming session by supporters of Qatari candidate Khalil Al-Mohannadi.
The statement noted:
● “[T]he ITTF would like to clarify that the election process was conducted in strict accordance with the ITTF Constitution and Statutes and in full respect of the Member Associations’ rights.”
● “In accordance with the ITTF Statutes (1.48.1.), each Member Association present at the AGM, not in arrears, has one vote, irrespective of whether it is present in person or online, at the time of the roll call or at a later stage during the AGM.”
● “In light of the above, the ITTF rejects the misconceived statement by some Member Associations to recognise any other result.
“The ITTF will not comment any further on the election process at this stage and will address any formal complaint it should receive in the appropriate forum.”
As for the commotion which followed, in which Al-Mohannadi himself took the microphone to protest and much of the “discussion” was led by ITTF Nominations Committee head Abdulla Al-Mulla (QAT), the ITTF statement noted:
“After the presidential election had already concluded, the AGM had to be suspended following the disruption initiated by individuals who were neither delegates from Member Associations, nor members of the Executive Board, Council, Committees, or invited guests.
“The ITTF regrets and strongly condemns the disruption. It will conduct an investigation to determine the various responsibilities and take measures, in particular, to avoid a similar disruption from happening in the future.”
Because there were multiple elections not held due to the suspension of the meeting, including for Executive Vice President, the ratification of Council members and committee appointments, the Annual General Meeting will have to be continued, at a date and place to be announced later, but must be held before 24 November 2025.
Observed: It will be fascinating to see what ITTF disciplinary measures are initiated by the independent ITTF Integrity Unit, given that the protesters were well-known by the delegates. It can be assumed that a new rule be will be offered to bar future Presidential election meetings from being held in countries which have a Presidential candidate.
≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Cycling ● After two early climbs, the last third of stage 18 of the 108th Giro d’Italia was fairly flat, but German rider Nico Denz had no intention of allowing the race to come down to another mass sprint. So he took off with 18.6 km to go on the 144 km route to Cesano Maderno and won going away in 3:12:07. It’s his third career Giro stage win.
The chasers were 1:01 behind, led by Mirco Maestri (ITA) and Belgian Edward Planckaert, with the main contender almost 14 minutes back. It was a relatively eventful race for leader Isaac Del Toro (MEX: +13:51), as he maintained his 41-second lead on 2019 winner Richard Carapaz (ECU) and 51 seconds on Simon Yates (GBR).
A sad note was the abandonment by Spain’s stage 7 winner Juan Ayuso, who was stung by a bee in the eye area on Wednesday. The eye swelled and essentially closed and Ayuso could not continue after riding for about an hour on Thursday.
The drama will increase, with a five-climb monster of a course on Friday and a hilly, 205 km course on Saturday that ends with a massive climb and another uphill finish to the ski resort of Sestriere. Those two rides will decide the race, before the flat route into Rome on Sunday.
● Flag Football ● Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters on Thursday he’s likely not interested in playing for the American flag team at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles:
“It’s awesome, honestly, just to be able to showcase the NFL to the whole world through flag football.
“But I’ll probably leave that to the younger guys. I’ll be a little older by the time that thing comes around.”
Mahomes is 29 now and will be starting his ninth season with the Chiefs in 2025; he will be 32 by the time of the 2028 Olympic Games.
● Football ● In the high-profile trial in Argentina of seven medical professionals in the death of football legend Diego Maradona in November 2020, a mistrial was declared on Thursday. The Associated Press reported:
“[O]ne of the three judges overseeing the trial stepped down over criticism surrounding her participation in a forthcoming documentary series about the case, ‘Divine Justice,’ which spanned from the aftermath of Maradona’s death, as scandals and suspicions of foul play began to emerge, to the start of the trial. …
“The prosecutor asked judges to investigate allegations that [Judge Julieta] Makintach had violated judicial ethics in allowing a camera crew inside the courthouse to film her overseeing closed-door hearings for the reality TV-style series.”
Said Judge Maximiliano Savarino, “Judge Makintach did not act impartially. Her conduct caused harm to both the plaintiffs and the defense. The only person responsible is the recused judge.”
No date was set for the re-trial to begin.
● Judo ● Ukraine has said it will boycott the upcoming World Judo Championships in view of the decision of the International Judo Federation to allow Belarus to compete with its national flag, colors and anthem, effective 1 June 2025.
“The Ukrainian Judo Federation is forced to make a decision not to send an official delegation of the national team to the World Championship. The Federation strongly condemns the IJF’s decision and considers it contrary to the fundamental principles of fairness, responsibility and solidarity in the global sports movement.”
Belarus has been a direct ally of Russian in its invasion of Ukraine, allowing free access to the Russian military from the beginning of the attacks in February 2022. The IJF was reported to have restored Belarusian identity rights at an Executive Committee meeting on 16 May. The IJF previously decided to have Russian and Belarusian judoka compete under the auspices of the IJF itself.
● Swimming ● USA Swimming and NBC announced a rights extension to 2028, covering the national championships, the TYR Pro Swim Series, and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
Coverage will be shown on NBC and CNBC, plus the Peacock streaming service.
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