Grandi, the 82-year-old who has held the top job at the governing body since 1996, claimed "the time had come" for a representative from FIG to join sport’s most exclusive club.

He warned, however, that Watanabe would have to "wait his turn".

The Italian was a member between 2000 and 2004 before being forced to step down due to the IOC’s age limit of 70 - for members who had joined after 1999 - and there is currently no representative of gymnastics’ worldwide governing body at the organisation.

Watanabe stressed the need for the FIG to improve its standing within the IOC as part of his manifesto for the Presidency.

The Italian believes Watanabe, who beat rival candidate Georges Guelzec of France, the President of the European Union of Gymnastics, by a crushing margin of 100 votes to 19 during the election, is well placed to fill his shoes as an IOC member.

Watanabe himself had remained coy over his chances, telling insidethegames in the immediate aftermath of his triumph that he "hoped" to be a member but that it did not necessarily have to be him who took up the role on behalf of the FIG.

The FIG, however, are keen on the President being the main IOC member from their organisation.

The new President, who will take office on January 1, also admitted he was concerned his chances may be affected due to having not had a professional sporting career and not being an Olympian.

"Watanabe is young enough to enter the IOC," said Grandi.

"I am a little bit older than 70, now someone has to replace me and that time has come.

"The Presidents of first-tier sports may be members of the IOC, however there is a procedure to be followed.

"Now he will have to wait his turn and there is a long waiting list because next year the football President [FIFA President Gianni Infantino] wants to join, for example.

"I believe that gymnastics has a privileged path [to IOC membership] - without being a visionary he will have to wait at least a couple of years and in two years' time he will be a full member of the IOC."

The Japanese, a member of the Executive Committee, was widely expected to see off the challenge of Guelzec yet the winning margin surprised many Member Federations present at the 81st Congress here.

Watanabe admitted the sheer size of his victory brought extra pressure, while revealing he had decided to run for the Presidency two years ago.

He said he had visited a total of 102 countries during his campaign trail.

This comes despite Watanabe dismissing such claims during the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, after Guelzec had exclusively told insidethegames that the Japanese candidate had been actively lobbying for the position for a year-and-a-half.

He officially declared his candidature in April, while the 68-year-old Frenchman announced his intention as early as January 2015 - a factor, among others, which may have proved integral to his eventual defeat.

Just 19 members ticked the box for Guelzec, who had hoped to secure the majority of the European vote.

That did not materialise, with one nation claiming to insidethegames that some African members had voted for the Frenchman, raising concerns of an even greater divide in Europe, highlighted by the fact that less than half of those in attendance from Guelzec’s home continent picked him to become the ninth FIG President.

"I feel like my responsibility is quite heavy because 100 countries supported me," Watanabe said.

"So right now it is quite difficult to smile.

"I still want to support everyone even after I become President and I want to support global gymnastics.

"But I don’t have any problems and if I make the effort upfront I can eliminate any concern."