Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 25 (ANI): India’s Manush Shah and Diya Chitale secured a bronze medal in the mixed doubles table tennis event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 after losing their semi-final to China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha on Friday.
The Indian pair, ranked eighth in the world, went down 8-11, 5-11, 8-11, 2-11 in the semi-final. As there is no bronze medal playoff in the event, their semi-final appearance guaranteed them a podium finish, according to ESPN.
The medal is only India’s second in mixed doubles table tennis at the Asian Games. The first came through Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra at the 2018 edition.
Earlier on Friday, Shah and Chitale produced a major upset in the quarter-finals, defeating the world No. 4 Hong Kong pair of Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem 3-1 (11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5) to assure India of a medal. Wong and Doo are multiple-time World Championship medallists, with their most recent medal coming at last year’s edition.
The Indian duo’s bronze was one of several medals secured by the country on Day 6 of the Games.
India’s shooters Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, while Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar secured silver in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event.
In squash, Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar assured India of another medal after reaching the mixed doubles semi-finals, while Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh progressed to the men’s and women’s singles semi-finals respectively.
India’s kabaddi teams also advanced to the finals, with the women defeating Nepal and the men beating Thailand in their respective semi-finals.
In hockey, India’s women registered a 3-1 victory over Japan in their Pool B match.
Elsewhere, swimmer Rishabh Das finished sixth in the men’s 200m backstroke final with a time of 1:58.77, while weightlifter Seram Nirupama Devi finished seventh in the women’s 61kg category with a total lift of 217kg.
Boxer Preeti’s campaign ended in the round of 16 after she lost 0-5 to North Korea’s Pang Chol Mi.
India’s medal tally stood at 20, comprising two gold, eight silver and 10 bronze medals, placing the country 12th in the standings at the time of writing. (ANI)
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