TEHRAN - Iranian table tennis prodigy Benyamin Faraji clinched a bronze at the Europe Youth Smash tournament in Sweden on Sunday.
In the semifinals of the European Championship, Faraji faced Ryusei Kawakami from Japan. After a close and breathtaking battle that lasted 38 minutes, he lost to his tough opponent with a score of 4-3 and took the podium in third place.
Faraji ended the second, fourth and sixth games in his favor with the scores of 7-6, 7-4 and 7-5, respectively; but in the first, third, fifth and seventh games, he lost to his opponent with the scores of 7-2, 7-2, 7-6 and 7-5.
The Europe Youth Smash tournament commenced on Friday, August 14, in Sweden, where Faraji dominated his second group stage match against Noirault, earning a clean 4-0 sweep.
Faraji controlled the contest from the outset, taking the four games 7-4, 7-3, 7-1, and 7-6.
The victory follows Faraji’s opening match earlier in the day, where he defeated Italy’s Francesco Trevisan 4-2. 
Farji also defeated “Hong Chen” of Chinese Taipei 4-2 in the round of 16 and advanced to the top eight players.
The young Iranian national player had a powerful performance in the quarterfinals against Thiago Abiodun of Portugal, achieving a decisive 4-0 victory with the results of 7-5, 7-6, 7-2 and 7-1 to celebrate his fifth consecutive victory and secure his bronze medal. 
The European Youth Championships were held from August 13 to 15, hosted by the city of Malmo, Sweden, at the Baltiska Hallen.
By winning the bronze medal at the European Championship Youth Championship, Benyamin Faraji won the first medal in the history of Iranian table tennis in the European Championship.