Maldives has achieved a historic victory at the 2026 South Asia Youth Table Tennis Championship held at Shimla, India by winning three silver medals.
The championship was held from 8th April to 11th April, with Maldives winning a total of seven medals. Those were three silver medals and four bronze medals.
Maldives' U-15 Women's team won a silver medal in the team event. Athletes on the team are Aishath Malaak Thaseen, Aishath Alsa Nafiz and Sara Moosa Jaleel.
The team won the silver medal after competing in the group stage and semi-finals against strong teams such as Sri Lanka and Nepal, with Maldives winning with a 3-2 set score. Maldives won the final against India with a 3-0 set score.
Even if Maldives had lost the final, this is major progress for the Maldivian age group.
The President of the Table Tennis (TT) Association of Maldives Ali Rasheed stated that the U-15 Women's team's victory is a historic win for Maldivian TT.
"Maldives has not won a silver medal in a U-15 team event before," said Ali.
Mohamed Halaf Rafiu and Aishath Alsa Nafiz won silver in the mixed doubles category of the championship as well. The Minister of Sports, Fitness and Recreation Abdulla Rafiu's son Halaf played a role in winning three medals for Maldives.
Events where Maldives won silver medals
- U-15 Women's team which included Malaak, Alsa and Sara.
- U-15 Mixed Doubles which included Halaf and Alsa as a pair.
- U-19 Mixed Doubles which included Dheema and Halaf as a pair.
Maldives' U-15 Women's team and Mixed Doubles pair who won the silver medals have qualified for the Asian Youth Championship, which will be held in June 2026 at Muscat, Oman.
Events where Maldives won bronze medals
- Fathimath Dheema Ali - U-19 Singles.
- Dheema and Miksha - U-19 Women's Doubles.
- U-19 Women's team.
- U-19 Men's team.
