Noshad Alamian from Iran qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016 on Saturday.

He defeated Hong Kong’s Jiang Tiani 4-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4) at the Asia Olympic qualifying in Hong Kong.

Neda Shahsavari and Nima Alamian – both from Iran- have already booked their spots in the prestigious event.

Competing in the Middle Asia Zone, in the final of the Women’s Singles event Shahsavari recovered from the very depths of despair to beat Uzbekistan’s Olga Kim by the very narrowest of margins in the deciding game of a full distance duel (7-11, 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 12-10).

“It was unbelievable for me, because at the start I was not into the match; in game five I was down 6-10, I thought everything was finished for me but a miracle happened”, Neda Shahsavari. “I started to get back point by point and won the game; after that, everything was changed.”

Nima Alamian also defeated his brother Noshad (11-7, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5) to reserve an August date in the Riocentro.

Table tennis has been part of the Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Games but has been dominated by China.
MH