WTT Youth Contender Cappadocia 2025:
Iran’s Faraji, Yavari settle for runner-up trophies
Iranian table tennis players won three trophies, including two runner-up titles, at the WTT Youth Contender event in Cappadocia, Turkey.
Representing the country in the U17 boys’ singles event, Benyamin Faraji, who won a historic under-15 bronze in last year’s World Youth Championships, overcame opponents from Venezuela and Azerbaijan to reach the final showpiece but fell to a 3-2 setback (9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10) against home-favorite Gorkem Ocal.
Iranian girl Vania Yavari also finished her under-17 campaign with a runner-up trophy.
Yavari defeated three players from Hong Kong for a place in the final, before suffering defeat in straight games (11-8, 11-6, 11-6) against Loy Ming Ying of Singapore.
Yavari’s fellow-Iranian girl Setayesh Iloukhani had settled for a joint third-place finish – alongside Yuen Sum Lok of Hong Kong – in the same age group after a last-four loss to the Singaporean player.