Maldives number-one table tennis player, 13-year-old Fathimath Dheema Ali will have the honour of hoisting the country's national flag at the World Expo 2020.

The expo is to be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE from 1st October 2021 to 31 March 2022, with over 25 million people expected to attend. This is an event held to increase awareness about the obstacles faced by humanity on a global scale and offers networking opportunities.

This prestige was bestowed upon her as she was one that stood out in the interview panel held by the Economic Ministry for five female athletes chosen out of the many sent in by the Youth Ministry.

This is the second time the teenager will be raising the Maldivian flag at an international event, she previously waved the flag at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG).

Recently, Dheema was ranked 8th place in the world under 15 girls single category in the rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). She is also part of the program ITTF created to train athletes for the Olympics.

Within the first three years of joining the national table tennis team, Dheema has brought great pride to the Maldives. She achieved three gold medals in the IOIG 2019, and has been described as “the most accomplished table tennis player Maldives has ever seen.”

Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof congratulated Dheema for the honour and mentioned in his tweet the supportive role Dheema’s parents have played in her coming so far at such a young age.