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2018 ITTF World Team Championship: 10-year-old Maldivian dazzles, dreams big

At 10, Ali Fathimath Dheema has established herself as the number one ranked Maldivian female player and a member of the three-man female team competing at the 2018 World Team Championship in Halmstad, Sweden.

At 10, Ali Fathimath Dheema has established herself as the number one ranked Maldivian female player and a member of the three-man female team competing at the 2018 World Team Championship in Halmstad, Sweden.

The excitement on playing on big stage was written all over ALI Fathimath Dheema at the training hall of Halmstad Arena. She was jumping from one place to the other with the hope of playing her first match in the tournament but her joy was quenched when their opponent  – Bangladesh failed to show up for the encounter.

However, little ALI Fathimath Dheema is not giving up on meeting her idol – China’s Ning Ding in Halmstad.

“I feel so excited coming to Sweden particularly proud to represent my country in big stage like this. It has been a great feeling for me since I got to Sweden because I could never imagined that I will be playing in same competition like my idol – Ning Ding of China. It has been a very great moment for me and I hope to enjoy each day I spend in Sweden,” the grade five pupil of Royal Institute international Girls School in Colombo, Sri Lanka told NationSport.

Accompanied by her mother – Aishath Waheeda, the Maldivian star said her romance with table tennis started when she was six after she was rejected by a badminton coach due to her height. “My father wanted me to do sports and he took me to a badminton coach who turned me down because I was too short to play the game. So I decided to embrace table tennis because it was easy to organize as we can play it in my house. So since I started, my parent has been supporting me and I am so happy that I am part of the Maldivian team to this great tournament.”

“My dream is to make my country proud in the sport and continue to work harder to be able to make names for myself and family. But I cannot wait to meet Ning Ding whom I love watching so much. She is such a hardworking player who is always aiming to win her matches,” ALI Fathimath Dheema.

Regarded as the youngest player in Halmstad, the road to the top for the youngster was made smoother with the huge support from her mother who is also present in Sweden.

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