Nigeria’s Wahid Oshodi bids for re-election as ITTF Vice President

All eyes are on Nigeria’s Wahid Oshodi as he prepares to contest one of the eight available seats for Executive Vice President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

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The election is set to take place on Tuesday, 27 May, during the ITTF Annual General Meeting in Doha, Qatar.

Mr Oshodi, a former commissioner for youth and sports in Lagos State and one of only four incumbents seeking re-election, is widely considered a leading contender.

His first term on the Executive Board earned him a reputation for visionary leadership and diplomacy, making him a respected figure across global table tennis.

Earlier in 2024, Mr Oshodi was elected President of the African Table Tennis Federation, a development that significantly bolstered his influence in the sport.

His role in mending relations between World Table Tennis (WTT) and the athletes’ community was particularly lauded, positioning him as a critical voice for unity and reform.

The election field is competitive, with seventeen candidates in total. Alongside Mr Oshodi, the list includes South Africa’s Hajera Hajee, Uganda’s Robert Jjagwe, Sudan’s Ayman Ali, Romania’s Beatrice Romanescu, Ecuador’s Paul Calle, Japan’s Ichiro Hoshino, Hungary’s Imre Kovacsics and Turkey’s Veli Ozan Cakir.

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Others are Brazil’s Alaor Azevedo, Egypt’s Alaa Meshref, Australia’s Anthony Moore, China’s Liu Guoliang, Italy’s Stefano Bosi, Jordan’s Princess Zeina Rashid, the United States’ Virginia Sung, and South Korea’s Ryu Seungmin.

Three candidates—Andrew Mudibo of Kenya, Elhajji Monqid of Morocco, and Lotfi Guerfel of Tunisia—have withdrawn their candidacies.

In addition to the race for Vice Presidents, the ITTF will also elect its President.

Incumbent Petra Sörling of Sweden is seeking a second term and will face challenges from Khalil Al-Mohannadi of Qatar and Mohamed El Hacen Ahmed Salem of Mauritania.

Sörling made history in 2021 as the first female President of the ITTF, taking office during a turbulent time marked by the global pandemic and growing geopolitical tensions.

Her administration has been credited with restoring financial stability and emphasising global unity through sport.

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She also became the first ITTF President to be elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a major achievement that elevated the sport’s international profile.

Sörling’s bid for re-election is backed by several major sporting nations, who see her as a leader capable of building on the federation’s momentum and pushing table tennis to new heights.

With 227 member associations, the ITTF remains the world’s largest sport federation.

The outcome of Tuesday’s elections is expected to shape the direction of global table tennis for the next generation, and for Nigeria and Africa at large, Mr Oshodi’s possible re-election signals a continued rise in influence on the international sporting stage.