Asian Table Tennis Championships:
Iranian pair secures 2027 World Ch’ships berth
Iran secured a place at the 2027 World Table Tennis Championships after Benyamin Faraji and Arian Ghafari teamed up to defeat the Saudi pair 3-2 in the men’s doubles at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Iranian pair bounced back from a last-16 defeat to the Philippines to claim the victory needed to secure a place at next year’s global event.
Meanwhile, Noshad and Nima Alamiyan withdrew from the doubles competition after the former fell ill with a severe cold. The decision was made by the coaching staff to protect the health of the Iranian international.
Faraji also made progress in the men’s singles, defeating Japan’s Hiroto Shinozuka, the world No. 20, 3-1 to reach the round of 16, before falling in straight games to South Korea’s Park Gang-hyeon on Saturday.
A bronze medalist at the Asian Games last month, Noshad Alamiyan had earlier reached the round of 32 in the men’s singles, before suffering a 3-0 setback against Kuo Guan-Hong of the Chinese Taipei.
In the women’s competition, Mahshid Ashtari opened her campaign with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s Nihal Al-Qahtani before recording another straight-games victory against Singapore’s Ser Lin Qian. The two wins sent the Iranian through to the round of 32 without dropping a game, though she also had her campaign brought to an end with a 3-0 setback against Wang Yidi of China on Friday.
Reports from the tournament indicated that several players had experienced respiratory illnesses. Japanese player Shunsuke Togami was among those reported to have withdrawn, although the medical reasons for other players’ withdrawals had yet to be officially confirmed.