The Maldivian mixed doubles pairs have secured silver medals at the South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship held in Shimla, India, from the 8th of this month through today. In the Under-15 mixed doubles event, the pair consisting of Mohamed Halaf Raafiu and Aishath Alsa Nafiz earned silver after competing in the final. Similarly, in the Under-19 mixed doubles final, Fathimath Dheema Ali and Halaf also secured a silver medal for the Maldives.

The ongoing championship in India also serves as a qualification tournament for the Asian Championship scheduled to take place in Muscat, Oman, this coming June. The Maldives is competing in both the Under-15 Cadet and Under-19 Junior categories.

With individual events having commenced yesterday, the Maldivian U-15 pair, Alsa and Halaf, faced India's formidable Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty in the final. Although the Maldivian pair lost in straight sets, they displayed a competitive performance, particularly in the final set which ended 11-9. The Indian pair took the first two sets 11-5 and 11-4.

In the Under-19 mixed doubles final, Dheema and Halaf competed against India’s Priyan and Jennifer Varghese. The Indian pair claimed victory in straight sets. The first set was closely contested, ending 10-12 in favor of India, who then maintained their momentum to win the subsequent sets 11-2 and 11-6.

In addition to these achievements, the Maldives also secured a silver medal in the women's team event during this tournament.