Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) has urged an impartial, transparent inquiry into Tuesday’s disputed 2025 ITTF Presidential vote conducted during the federation’s Annual General Meeting in Doha.
The ITTF presidential vote witnessed unexplained discrepancies between the official roll call and the final digital tally. The QTTA has questioned the final online votes tally which saw incumbent Petra Sorling 'prevail' over Qatari candidate Khalil Al-Mohannadi - who had a paper-ballot victory.
Sorling, a Swede, was announced to have been re-elected for a second term emerging over Al-Mohannadi by 104 votes to 102.
The QTTA yesterday issued a formal statement in response to the “procedural failures” that occurred during the ITTF Presidential Election held in Doha.
QTTA highlighted that the official roll call documented 185 in-person delegates and 16 online, forming the legal quorum, and the final voting screen showed 21 online votes, five more than announced.
“These five ballots were never declared, validated, or included in the roll call,” the statement noted.
Al Mohannadi received 98 paper ballot votes against Sorling's 87 while the latter was announced to have received 17 online votes and Al Mohannadi 4. “That paper vote was open, monitored, and binding. It represented the collective will of the General Assembly, until it was nullified by an unexplained and unauthorized surge of digital votes that overturned the outcome and handed a narrow 104-102 win to Ms.Sorling. This is not only a discrepancy. It is a breach of electoral legitimacy, of constitutional fidelity, and of the very integrity on which international sport depends,” the statement added.
The ITTF, in a statement, confirmed Sorling’s victory and attributed the disruption to "outside parties." The Annual General Meeting was formally suspended, and the vote for vice-presidential posts was postponed. The gathering will reconvene no later than November, in accordance with ITTF constitutional rules.
The QTTA statement, meanwhile, noted that the QTTA, and countless Member Federations, have made repeated, reasonable, and legally grounded requests for the following: A release of login timestamps and access logs for all online voters; A public explanation for the inclusion of five additional votes after the quorum had been declared; Preservation of the full AGM video recording, roll call documentation, and forensic access to the LUMI voting system.
“None of these requests have been honoured by the ITTF,” it said.
“The shock, disbelief, and frustration, expressed in real time, came not from one region, but from a chorus of voices from Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond, all taking the floor to plead for justice and clarity.”
In the immediate aftermath of the AGM’s suspension, QTTA has received an overwhelming number of messages from Member Federations across all continents.
“We are prepared to cooperate with any independent investigation or tribunal, including before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). We will not participate in a shadow war through the media. This battle is not for headlines, it is for the future of our sport. We urge the ITTF to abide by the principles and values that are central to our sport,” the statement read.
“The collective message from our ITTF family is clear: the election must be reviewed — independently, transparently, and immediately,” QTTA noted.
Meanwhile, Sorling in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter defended the result and rejected accusations that the process had been rigged.
"Of course the elections are valid," she said. "And if anyone wants to appeal, they can go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or a civil court."
When asked about the disputed online votes, she responded, "People come and go during meetings. It's not unusual for some delegates to log in late in a hybrid format. All votes were cast within the rules. That was confirmed by the legal experts present."
