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IBF: American Executive Voted Out, Another In

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG Badminton Products and their Western USA agents BADMINTON ALLEY. **

May 18, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - In an unusual development at the general meeting of the International Badminton Federation held this Sunday near Copenhagen, Denmark in conjunction with the world championships, the general assembly of the federation did not follow the recommendation of their executive council to elect Stan Hales of the United States of America as one of three vice-presidents of the federation. Instead, the general assembly voted for James Sekajugo of Africa.

Usually, the general assembly rubberstamps the recommendation of the executive council.

Hales who was also up for reelection as a member of the executive council suffered another setback when he again did not get enough votes to be returned to the federation's policy-making body.

Hales is one of the representatives of the USA Badminton to the federation and is a respected international tournament official. He is a former American national team player, coach, international umpire and president of the American badminton organiztion. Hales is also president of a college in the American Midwest region as well as a mathematics professor.

According to some participants in the general assembly, politics, the prominent American role in the Yugoslav crisis and the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade all contributed to the negative response to Hales, specially among the members sympathetic to the Chinese delegation.

However, a prominent assembly member from China disagreed with that observation and pointed out that the same general assembly had elected another American, Paisan Rangsikitpho, to the executive council.

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