Male, Maldives, May 16, 2024: Table tennis player Fathimath Dheema Ali made history by becoming the first Maldivian athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Dheema, 15, was crowned women’s singles champion in the South Asian Regional Olympics Qualification tournament held in Kathmandu, Nepal from May 13-15 to earn a direct entry into the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Her heroics earned her widespread applause and admiration in Maldives with the President of the country, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, extending his congratulations.
In a telephone conversation with Dheema’s family, the President expressed his enthusiasm that a local athlete had, for the first time, won an Olympic qualifying match and earned a coveted spot at the Games. He stated Dheema’s outstanding accomplishment was a great matter of pride for the entire nation.
President Muizzu also assured Dheema of his full support for this opportunity to compete at the Olympics in Paris.
Dheema is not only the first Maldivian athlete to qualify for the Olympics, she is also the first to compete in table tennis at the Games.
Dheema, who is trained by Croatian coach Zvonimir Korenic, defeated Sri Lankan champion Bimandi Bandara 4-1 in the singles final to earn her ticket to Paris.
Previously, Maldives’ participation at the Olympics has all come from IOC invitations for athletes from smaller countries who struggle to qualify for the Games.
However, Maldives was also represented in badminton twice by Mohamed Ajufaan Rasheed (London 2012) and Fathimath Nabaha Abdul Razzaq (Tokyo 2020), who were granted the opportunity to participate based on their scores in the qualifiers despite not winning the qualifiers.
