"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," advised Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in "The Godfather, Part 2." ITTF President Thomas Weikert might do well to keep this advice in mind. In 2014, the then-Deputy President Weikert ascended to presidency when Adham Sharara stepped aside. After three years of peace and prosperity, Weikert built a solid resume. Leading up to the 2017 ITTF general election, Weikert announced his intention to serve only one four-year term. He faced stiff opposition for the presidency. First, Khalil Al-Mohannadi, the president of the Qatar Table Tennis Association, announced his candidacy. Legendary Belgian player Jean-Michel Saive then threw his hat into the ring. Al-Mohannadi subsequently stepped aside and endorsed Weirkert, who defeated Saive head-to-head, 118-90. Al-Mohannadi then assumed the position of ITTF Deputy President, the same role Weikert himself once occupied. Meanwhile, Executive Vice-President of Finance Petra Sörling was quietly keeping the whole operation running. A representative of the Swedish Table Tennis Association, she also won the over 45 women's doubles title at the 2018 World Veteran Championships. Now, both Sörling and Al-Mohannadi have voiced their concerns about Weikert's leadership, likely in response to his recently announced intention to seek another four-year term in 2021. Using the official Swedish Table Tennis Association letterhead, the disgruntled executives sent a letter to other ITTF member nations calling for "new direction for the ITTF membership under the leadership of a new President." The letter cited the current COVID-19 crisis as evidence of Weikert's unfitness to lead, pointing to a "lack of strategical and constructive initiatives... to safeguard the ITTF from a structural and financial point of view in these difficult times." The flaming arrow of a missive goes on to accuse Weikert of making "several moves and contacting national association representatives around the world, clearly with the aim to strengthen his own election platform, instead of following the decision making and meeting protocol of the ITTF Executive Committee." (This charge also serves as a textbook example of how to remain vague while using very specific-sounding language.) Sörling and Al-Mohannadi describe Weikert as more driven by self-interest than the wishes of the global table tennis community, someone whose "perspectives on global leadership... lack necessary depth and true understanding." While neither Al-Mohannadi nor Sörling has announced candidacy for the captain's chair, their shared goal is just to see someone else's hands on the steering wheel. In the meantime, all parties involved are in for some awkward executive committee meetings this year. Just don't be too surprised to see Weikert keeping Sörling Al-Mohannadi very close to him.

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