Asian Para Games: Bhavina-Subham clinch bronze in mixed doubles table tennis

Nagoya: India’s Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa secured a bronze medal in mixed doubles XD7 table tennis at the Asian Para Games after going down to South Korea’s Jang Yeongjin and Lee Migyu in the semifinal here on Thursday.

The Indian combination went down 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11 in the last-four encounter, bringing their campaign to a close. However, their place on the podium had already been secured by their quarterfinal victory.

Bhavina and Subham had produced a convincing display in the quarterfinals against Japan’s Kimie Bessho and Masanori Uno. The Indian duo won 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 to advance to the semifinals in straight games and guarantee themselves a medal.

Their challenge against the South Korean pair proved tougher, with Jang and Lee recovering from the second-game setback to take control of the contest. Despite the defeat, the Indian duo finished their campaign with a bronze medal in the XD7 category, which features wheelchair athletes with moderate sitting balance.

Elsewhere, India’s Dattaprasad Chougule and Savita narrowly missed out on a semifinal berth in the mixed doubles XD17 event after suffering a five-game defeat to the Philippines’ Wilfred Redulla and Manginsay Lhey.

The Indian pair made a promising start, taking the opening two games 11-9, 11-9. However, the Filipino combination mounted a comeback, winning the next three games 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 to seal a 3-2 victory and end India’s campaign in the event.

The XD17 classification generally features standing athletes with physical impairments affecting their legs and arms, covering classes 6 to 10.

While Chougule and Savita were unable to progress, Bhavina and Subham’s podium finish added to India’s medal surge, with the country ranked fifth with 74 medals at the time of writing, including 17 gold, 23 silver and 34 bronze.

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