Iran’s Alamian given Olympic boost in latest ITTF World Ranking
Iranian Noshad Alamian was handed a major boost in his quest for a place in the table tennis contests of the Paris Olympics in July after moving up by 17 spots in the ITTF Men’s Singles World Ranking, released on Tuesday.
The left-handed Iranian is 51st in the international governing body’s latest list with 516 points and remains in contention for an Olympic berth through the World Ranking.
Up to 15 players – not already qualified – will be handed a quota place through the World Ranking of Week 25 on June 18.
Alamian’s massive surge in the ranking – the second highest in the top 60 – came after the Iranian enjoyed an impressive run during last week’s Saudi Smash 2024 in Riyadh, where he came from behind twice to beat world No. 4 Liang Jingkun from China in a thrilling five games, before his campaign came to an end against Chinese teenager Lin Shidong – ranked 11th in the latest list in the round of 16.
Should Alamian go all the way to punch his Paris ticket, it will round off a remarkable 12 months for the Iranian, who ended the country’s 65-year drought in the Asian Games last October by grabbing the men’s team bronze – alongside his younger brother Nima and Amirhossein Hodaei – before teaming up with his brother for a third-place finish in the men’s doubles event in Hangzhou.
Hodaei fell down six places to stand 137th in the ITTF Ranking, while Nima’s 172nd place remained unchanged.