The national coach has stated that although the Maldivian men’s and women’s table tennis teams, who won bronze medals in the South Asian Regional Qualification tournament for the 2026 Table Tennis World Championship, had hoped for second place, the players performed exceptionally well.
Sharing the tournament experience with PSM News after returning to Male’ with the third-place team, Coach Mahdi Koshmarum said that this was a tournament where they competed against very strong players, but the Maldivian players showed excellent performance.
Team Manager Ahmed Shazil said that the team’s goal for the World Championship qualifiers was to secure second place. However, achieving third place is a significant success, and defeating Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, two teams that the Maldives had not previously beaten, marks substantial progress.
Fathimath Dheema Ali, one of the participating players, said that she learned a lot from this tournament. She added that playing in this qualification round with India, the strongest team in the region, was a good experience in preparation for upcoming tournaments.
From the men’s team, Moosa Munsif Ahmed said that all players performed very well in the tournament, and they have reached a level they hadn’t before. He stated that this is a big achievement, and the hope is to secure second place in the region in the future.
The players who won bronze medals in the South Asian Regional Qualification tournament arrived in Male’ today. Sports Commissioner Mohamed Tholal, along with some senior officials from the Sports Ministry and the Olympic Committee, welcomed the team at Velana International Airport.
The Sports Commissioner encouraged the players to achieve even better success in future tournaments, acknowledging their efforts to qualify for the World Championship.
This qualification round, held in Nepal from July 30 to 31, featured teams from the Maldives, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
In the women’s matches, Sri Lanka beat the Maldives 3-1, India defeated the Maldives defeated the Maldives 3-0, the Maldives won against Bangladesh 3-1, and Nepal beat the Maldives 3-0.
In the men’s matches, the Maldives defeated Sri Lanka 3-1, India won against the Maldives 3-0, and Bangladesh beat the Maldives 3-2.
The male athletes representing the Maldives were Moosa Munsif Ahmed, Mohamed Shaffan Ismail, Akhyar Ahmed Khalid, and Mohamed Zeesth Naseem.
The female team consisted of Fathimath Dheema Ali, Aishath Rafa Nazim, Mishka Mohamed Ibrahim, and Aishath Alsa Nafiz.
The 2026 World Championship will be held next year in London, United Kingdom.
