Asian Games: Diya Chitale, Manush Shah storm into mixed doubles semis, secure table tennis medal

Diya Chitale and Manush Shah (Image credit: NEW DELHI: India’s Manush Shah and Diya Chitale clinched a mixed doubles medal at the Asian Games after beating Hong Kong’s Wong Chun-Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals on Friday.The Indian pair defeated the world No. 4 combination 3-1 (11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5) to enter the semi-finals and secure India a medal in table tennis.Manush and Diya will now face Chinese world number two Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha in the semi-finals on Friday. A win would see the Indians reach the finals of the Asian Table Tennis Games for the first time.The medal is India’s second in mixed doubles at the Asian Games. Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra won bronze in Jakarta 2018. It is also only India’s fourth table tennis medal in Asian Games history.

A strong finish seals the win

Manush and Diya got off to a great start, taking the opening game 11-6. The Hong Kong pair struggled in the second game but the Indians stayed in the match before narrowly losing it 13-15.With the match tied at 1-1, the Indian duo upped their game and took the third game 11-9. That left them just one game away from a guaranteed medal.They completed the task in style, winning the fourth game 11-5 to seal their place in the last four.

Fourth medal in table tennis for India

India has now won four medals in table tennis at the Asian Games, all four being bronze.Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra won the mixed doubles bronze at Jakarta 2018. The men’s team of Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and Manav Thakkar also bagged bronze at the same Games.At Hangzhou 2023, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee added another bronze in the women’s doubles.