India clinch first Asian Championships mixed doubles medal in 72 years after Desai and Ghorpade reach semis

Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade secured India’s first mixed doubles medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in 72 years by reaching the semifinals in Tashkent on Friday, October 24, 2026, guaranteeing at least a bronze. The Indian pair advanced after a five-game quarterfinal victory over South Korea’s Park Ganghyeon and Lee Daeun.

Desai and Ghorpade reached the last eight after receiving a first-round bye and recording wins in the preceding rounds, defeating Chinese Taipei 3-1 and Indonesia 3-0. Those results set up the quarterfinal meeting with the South Korean duo.

In the quarterfinal, India prevailed 3–2 with game scores of 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9. The Indians took the opening game 11-6, dropped the next two 8-11 and 8-11, then won the fourth and deciding games by identical 11-9 margins.

Facing a situation where they had lost two consecutive games, the pair produced a comeback to clinch the match in five. The five-game victory underlined the pair’s resilience and ability to recover when the match threatened to slip away.

India’s mixed doubles podium finish is the country’s first at the Asian Championships since early editions of the event: Gool Nasikwala and Kalyan Jayant won gold in 1952, and Yatin Vyas and Meena Parande took silver in 1954.

Desai and Ghorpade will meet Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Sora Matsushima in the semifinals.