Dabbaransi wins IBF presidency

Dabbaransi wins IBF presidency

SEVILLE, Spain (Agencies): Thailand's Korn Dabbaransi was elected on Sunday as the new president of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) 24 hours after the federation's official nominee, the Sultan of Brunei, pulled out of the race.

Dabbaransi, a former deputy prime minister of Thailand, beat the remaining candidate, Indonesia's Justian Suhandinata, by 180 votes to 29 at the federation's annual general meeting. It was the first election for a new president in the IBF's 67-year history.

Dabbaransi, a friend of the Sultan's, said he had seen him in Brunei Darussalam last Tuesday when he was told he would not be coming to Seville because he had to stay at home for a religious ceremony and it would be wrong to be elected in his absence.

Outgoing president Madame Lu Shengrong of China said the Sultan had also said state duties kept him "fully occupied".

Dabbaransi told reporters: "He emphasized to me his devotion to badminton and he stressed his willingness to support the world of badminton.

"He even gave me his blessing that if I were to be elected he would give me his full support."

Dabbaransi said, as quoted by Reuters: "He has a very important religious ceremony to attend to in his kingdom which made it impossible for him to come to this country.

"He felt it would not be ethical to be elected without being present at the assembly of the members so he regretfully declined the invitation for that very reason."

Madame Lu said she had received a letter on Saturday morning expressing the Sultan's appreciation at being nominated but citing state duties and the ceremony for his withdrawal.

"Sometimes these things happen," she said.

Dabbaransi, 55, is president of the Asian Badminton Confederation. Justian, his beaten opponent, has been an IBF vice-president since 1993 and is a former international player.

Delegates at the annual meeting in a Seville hotel were told formally on Sunday morning by Madame Lu that the Sultan had decided to withdraw from the race.

But the affair is a huge embarrassment to the federation whose ruling executive council voted 17-7 last year to nominate the Sultan despite his never having held a post in the IBF.

The Sultan, one of the world's richest men with a fortune put at US$16 billion, is a keen badminton player and his country is the regular host of the world grand prix finals.

Dabbaransi said on Sunday: "Both his queens play badminton, all of his children play badminton and I can confirm that because I have been there many times."

Justian expressed concern on the IBF poor performance in attracting spectators in Seville.

"If IBF fails to popularize badminton, it is possible that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) will exclude the sport from the Olympics," he said as quoted by Antara.

"Staging the event here is to popularize badminton. If badminton major events are always staged in Asia or Scandinavia, it won't change the current condition," said Justian, who aimed to popularize badminton in the United States.

About 120 countries were represented at Sunday's meeting with nations granted voting powers in proportion to their badminton- playing population.