WTT Youth Contender:
Iranians claim three boys’ trophies in Dammam
Table tennis prodigy Erfan Yazdanbakhsh triumphed in an all-Iranian final as the country secured three trophies in the U17 boys’ singles competition at the latest WTT Youth Contender event in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.
Yazdanbakhsh defeated two opponents from the host country to win Group 6 and advance to the round of 32, where he beat Jordan’s Yousef Albayaydah 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7).
Following victories over Qatar’s Yousif Abdalla (3-0) and Kazakhstan’s Alexey Markin (3-1), Yazdanbakhsh faced his high-profile compatriot Benyamin Faraji in the semifinals.
Yazdanbakhsh prevailed in straight games (11-7, 11-6, 11-9) to secure a spot in the final against another fellow Iranian, Mohammad Habibi.
In a thrilling showdown at the Green Sports Halls, Habibi twice rallied from behind to force a deciding fifth game, but ultimately settled for the runner-up trophy after a 3-2 defeat (11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7).
Faraji finished joint third alongside Saudi Arabia’s Abdulrahman Al Taher, who was beaten 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-6) by Habibi in the semifinals.
Faraji was part of the Iranian quartet that claimed the men’s team silver at last month’s Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, following a final loss to Kazakhstan. He also paired with Amirhossein Hodaei to win a joint bronze medal in the doubles event alongside a Saudi duo.
Having won a historic under-15 bronze at last year’s ITTF World Youth Championships, Faraji missed out on a podium finish in this year’s edition in late November. A knee injury sustained just before his quarterfinal match in the under-19 category proved costly, clearly hampering the Iranian prodigy’s mobility and causing visible discomfort during a 4-0 defeat (11-2, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6) to the formidable Chinese player Li Hechen.