WTT Youth Contender Doha 2026:
Faraji triumphs in U17 boys’ singles
Iranian table tennis prodigy Benyamin Faraji rounded out the latest WTT Youth Contender event in style, claiming the U17 boys’ singles title in Doha.
A winner of a historic under-15 bronze medal for the country at the 2024 World Youth Championships, Faraji defeated Vietnam’s Man Lung Sai in straight games (11-8, 11-6, 11-7) in Tuesday’s final at the Lusail Sports Arena.
Given a bye in the first round, the Iranian began his campaign with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-8) win against Lam Sheung Man – also from Vietnam – in the round of 32, and then came from behind to beat India’s Rishaan Chattopadhayay 3-1 (5-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5) for a place in the quarterfinals.
A straight-game win (11-7, 11-9, 11-6) against Malaysian Lai Yong Ren sent Faraji into the semifinals, where he defeated South Korea’s Ma Yeongmin 3-1 (13-11, 16-18, 11-5, 11-5).
Arshia Lorestani was the other Iranian boy in the under-17 action in Doha.
Lorestani beat both Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader and Lin Chin-Ting of Chinese Taipei in straight games, but relinquished a first-game lead to suffer a 3-1 setback (10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4) against the Vietnamese finalist in the round of 16.