An "emergency meeting" was held by the ITTF Executive Committee today to discuss entry and visa problems facing some candidates, including the Qatari official who is standing for executive vice-president, but is was agreed the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will go ahead.

The AGM is scheduled to take place on November 24 in Houston during the World Table Tennis Championships, due to be held from November 23 to 29.

It was confirmed that Al-Mohannadi had failed to secure a visa to enter the US, with the ITTF saying it had "not been informed of any reason for such".

According to the ITTF, the Executive Committee agreed that it would be "unfair" to hold the election "under those circumstances" and that either the AGM or the election should be cancelled or postponed despite the prospect of legal issues.

However, Al-Mohannadi said he would not like to be the reason for voting not to go ahead or cause any legal problems, the ITTF claims.

The ITTF Executive Committee thanked Al-Mohannadi for his sacrifice in what outgoing President Thomas Weikert stated was a "really unfair situation".

"In 2021, my country Qatar and I fought hard for the ITTF and Table Tennis during the COVID-19 crisis to help keep the sport alive," said Al-Mohannadi.

"It is my great desire and wish to be in Houston, and I am extremely sad not to have received a visa allowing me to travel to the United States.

"However, after the cancellation of the 2020 World Championships, it is really important for our sport to have a successful event in Houston, USA. 

"Despite my great wish to be there, I prefer for the Championships and the AGM to go on as usual, and I wish all my friends will enjoy the World Championships in Houston, USA."

Al-Mohannadi has been at the centre of a bitter governance dispute with Weikert, which has led to the German deciding against standing for re-election.

Weikert attempted to remove Al-Mohannadi from the Deputy President post in February of this year, only for the Executive Committee to reinstate the Qatari official.

Claims that Al-Mohannadi breached the ITTF Constitution were dismissed by the ITTF Integrity Unit in August.

Petra Sörling, executive vice-president for finance at the ITTF and an Al-Mohannadi ally, is set to succeed Weikert as President at the AGM after being confirmed as the only candidate.

A total of 35 nominations have been made for positions on the ITTF Board of Directors, with 32 set to be confirmed at the AGM.

Al-Mohannadi, who was last month elected as the head of the Asian Table Tennis Union, is among 17 candidates in the running for eight executive vice-president positions at the ITTF.

Weikert has turned his attention to standing for the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) Presidency.