Published: September 25, 2026 at 6:43 pm
Manush Shah and Diya Chitale clinched the bronze medal in the mixed doubles table tennis event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday. The Indian paddlers lost to the People’s Republic of China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha 4-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-2) in the semifinals at the Sky Hall Toyota.
The Chinese pair are world No. 2 in mixed doubles while Manush and Diya are eighth. With both losing semifinalists receiving bronze medals, Manush and Diya’s podium finish was India’s fourth table tennis medal in Asian Games history. All four have been bronze.
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It was also India’s second medal in the Asian Games table tennis mixed doubles event after Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra won bronze at Jakarta 2018.
Manush and Diya had assured themselves of a medal earlier on Friday with a quarterfinal victory over Hong Kong China’s world No. 4 Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem.
The Indians won the contest 3-1 (11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5), recovering after the Hong Kong China pair levelled the match in the second game.
Yashaswini Ghorpade progressed to the women’s singles round of 16 after beating Syria’s Hend Zaza 4-1 (11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4)
Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem have won four World Championships bronze medals together, most recently at Doha 2025.
The Asian Games bronze adds another significant result to Manush and Diya’s rise as a mixed doubles combination. They have won three WTT Contender mixed doubles titles together, triumphing in Tunis in 2025 before adding crowns in Muscat and Lagos in 2026. The Lagos victory made them the first Indian combination to win three WTT Contender titles.
Manush and Yashaswini remain in contention
Manush Shah and Yashaswini Ghorpade are the remaining Indian challenges in table tennis at the Asian Games 2026. Both the Indians advanced the singles events of the competitions.
Manush moved into the men’s singles round of 16 with a 4-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5) win over Islamic Republic of Iran’s Benyamin Faraji on Friday. He will next face China’s world No. 8 Lin Shidong.
Yashaswini progressed to the women’s singles round of 16 after beating Syria’s Hend Zaza 4-1 (11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4).
Sreeja Akula and Manav Thakkar exited the singles competitions in the round of 32, while India’s challenges in the men’s and women’s doubles also ended on Friday.
Sreeja Akula and Manav Thakkar exited the singles competitions in the round of 32. Sreeja Akula and Syndrela Das also bowed out in the women’s doubles Round of 16 after losing 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-7) to China’s world No. 2 duo Kuai Man and Wang Manyu
India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai were knocked out in the men’s doubles Round of 16 after losing 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) to Japan’s Sora Matsushima and Shunsuke Togami. Their defeat also brought an end to India’s table tennis challenge in the men’s doubles.
Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale exited the women’s doubles after losing 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-8) to China’s Fan Shuhan and Chen Yi in the Round of 16.
Telangana paddler Sreeja Akula and Syndrela Das also bowed out in the women’s doubles Round of 16 after losing 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-7) to China’s world No. 2 duo Kuai Man and Wang Manyu.
Table tennis was first contested at the Asian Games at Tokyo 1958. India waited 60 years for its first medal in the sport, with the men’s team and Sharath-Manika winning bronze medals at Jakarta 2018. At Hangzhou 2023, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee claimed the women’s doubles bronze medal.
