TEHRAN – Iran table tennis player Noshad Alamian secured the bronze medal after losing to in the Asian Games.
The men’s singles semi-finals bout, featuring a match between Noshad Alamian -ranked 344th globally - and China’s Wang Chuqin, Alamian lost to his Chinese opponent 4–1 and secured the bronze medal.
After losing the first two games of this crucial match 11–4 and 11–7, Alamian engaged in a much tighter contest in the third game against his formidable opponent; the scores were tied at 6–6, 7–7, and 9–9, and Alamian even took a 10–9 lead before ultimately winning the game 11–9. However, the fourth game was one-sided, ending 11–4 in favor of the Chinese player.
In the fifth game, Alamian once again went toe-to-toe with his renowned opponent, tying the score at 3–3, but ultimately lost the game 11–6.
With this semi-final defeat, Alamian missed out on a spot in the final and claimed the bronze medal in the Asian Games men’s singles table tennis event.
Noshad Alamian and Wang Chuqin had previously faced each other four times in various events, with Alamian suffering defeat in all four encounters. Noshad Alamian’s bronze medal marks the ninth bronze and the thirtieth medal for the Iranian delegation.