WTT Youth Contender 2025:
Iranian table tennis prodigies crowned in Sarajevo
Iran’s Benyamin Faraji and Nikan Shirvani walked away with a couple of winner’s trophies in the latest WTT Youth Contender event in Sarajevo.
Faraji, who won a historic under-15 bronze at the World Championships last year, beat opponents from Czechia, Italy, Croatia, and Slovakia before defeating Slovenian Miha Podobnik 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 11-5) in the boys’ singles U19 final.
This was Faraji’s third Youth Contender title of the season, after he won the trophy in January’s event in Tunis, followed by a runner-up finish in Cappadocia, Turkey, in February.
Elsewhere in the boys’ competitions, Shirvani came out on top in the under-11 age class, thanks to a 3-0 win (11-7, 13-11, 11-9) against Moldavan Nicolae Bucur.
Shirvani had come from behind to edge out Saleh Allam of Egypt in a five-game thriller (11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-2) at the Sport Hall ILIJAŠ for a place in the final.