This is the first medal in history of Iran in the youth level.
Faraji failed to advance to the final after losing to Chinese player Li Hechen 4-2 (11-6, 4-11, 11-13, 10-12, 12-10, 4-11) at Helsingborg Arena.
In his previous matches, Faraji had defeated Adam Wallin from Sweden, Shunto Iwaida from Japan, and Lin Chin-Ting from Chinese Taipei.
The competition is being held in Helsingborg, Sweden from Nov. 22 to 29.
Last month, the 14-year-old prodigy stunned the table tennis world by defeating world No. 1 Wang Chuqin at the 2024 Asian Table Tennis Championships. Faraji, ranked 209 places below Chuqin, secured a thrilling 3-2 victory (11-8, 3-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9) against his Chinese rival.
Despite this special triumph, Faraji remained remarkably grounded. “Winning against the world number one was unbelievable for me, but I believed in myself. My dream is to secure a medal in the Olympic Games,” he reflects.
AMK/TT