Iran’s first woman to compete in table tennis at the Olympics, Neda Shahsavari, says she is “thrilled” to be going to the London Games, and dreams of winning a medal for the Islamic republic.

Petite and agile, the 25-year-old physical education student from the western city of Kermanshah made history for Iran when she beat Kazakhstan’s Yelena Shagarova at the Middle Asia Olympic qualifying tournament in Tehran in January.