China's Liu Shiwen and India's Sharath Kamal Achanta were elected as joint International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Athletes' Commission chairs ahead of the ITTF Summit in Amman, Jordan on Friday.
It is the first time that the ITTF Athletes' Commission has two chairs – one woman and one man – elected to lead the body, which is regarded as the voice of table tennis athletes in the federation.
Liu Shiwen (L) and Xu Xin of Team China celebrate a point during their mixed doubles semi-final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan, July 25, 2021. /CFP
"Having strong, diverse voices for our athletes is so important in keeping our federation in the lead in keeping athletes at the heart of the sport movement," said ITTF president Petra Sorling.
Liu, 31, was a member of China's gold medal winning team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and took silver in mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020. She also won the women's singles title at the Budapest 2019 World Championships, 13 singles titles on the ITTF World Tour and the Women's World Cup five times.
Achanta, 40, made his mark on the international stage when he won the men's singles title at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Overall, he has seven gold, three silver and three bronze medals to his name at the Games.
Both Achanta and Liu will become members of the ITTF Executive Committee. They join South Korean Ryu Seung-min, first vice-chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission, in representing the voices of athletes.
(Cover image: Liu Shiwen of Team China in action during the mixed doubles final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan, July 26, 2021. /CFP)