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India have assured a table tennis medal at the Asian Games after the mixed doubles pair of Diya Chitale and Manush Shah stormed into the semifinals with a stunning victory over Hong Kong's world No. 4 duo Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem.
The Indian pair, ranked eighth in the world, defeated the Hong Kong combination 3-1 (11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5) in the quarterfinals to confirm at least a bronze medal for the country. Chitale and Shah produced a dominant display against the experienced Hong Kong pair, who are multiple-time World Championship medallists, with their latest podium finish coming at the 2025 World Championships. With this win, India will now compete in the mixed doubles semifinals, where they face a formidable Chinese pair of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. The medal marks India's second-ever table tennis mixed doubles medal at the Asian Games. The first came through Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra, who won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. The Indian duo had entered the quarterfinals with strong momentum and continued their impressive run against higher-ranked opponents to secure a historic result. Meanwhile, India's mixed doubles campaign featuring Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade came to an end after the Indian pair suffered a 0-3 defeat against China's Lin Shidong and Kuai Man in the quarterfinals. The Chinese duo won the match 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 to progress to the semifinals. On the other hand, India is having a mixed outing across disciplines. In badminton, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced after beating Maldives' Aminath Abdul Razzaq and Nibal Ahmed in the mixed doubles first round. In swimming, Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Patil qualified for the men's 200m backstroke final, while Dhanush Suresh, Aneesh Sunil and Dhakshan Shashikumar failed to progress in their respective events. In shooting, Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh topped the 10m air pistol mixed team qualification. In canoe sprint, Prohit Baroi and Prasanna Kumar advanced to Final B after finishing fifth in the men's kayak double 500m semifinal, while Megha Pradeep and Neha Leichonbam were eliminated after finishing fourth in the women's canoe double 500m semifinal. India's fencing teams were knocked out by Hong Kong and Uzbekistan in the men's team foil and women's team epee round of 16, respectively. In table tennis, Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade exited after losing their mixed doubles quarterfinal to China's Lin Shidong and Kuai Man. In athletics, Anamika Aneesh and Pooja remained seventh and ninth, respectively, in the women's heptathlon overall standings after the long jump event. (ANI)
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