Maldives Take Iran the Distance in Men’s Doubles Opener
The Maldives men’s doubles pair of Mohamed Shaffaan Ismail and Moosa Munsif Ahmed took Iran the full distance in a five-game contest at the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026.
Facing Benjamin Faraji and Aryan Ghaffari, the Maldivian pair recovered twice after falling behind. Iran opened the match with an 11–5 victory before Shaffaan and Munsif responded by taking the second game 11–8.
The Iranian pair regained the advantage with another 11–5 result in the third, but the Maldives again drew level as Shaffaan and Munsif secured the fourth game 11–8.
With the match tied at two games apiece, the deciding fifth game remained closely contested. Faraji and Ghaffari ultimately prevailed 11–8 to complete a 3–2 victory for Iran.
The Maldives table tennis team will return to competition tomorrow in the women’s doubles and men’s singles events.
