India’s Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel won bronze medals in women’s singles table tennis at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Tuesday. Both players lost their respective semi-final matches but finished on the podium.Bhavina lost 7-11, 5-11, 7-11 to China’s Zhang Bian in the Class 4-5 semi-final. Sonalben went down 7-11, 5-11, 6-11 against South Korea’s Jiyu Yoon in the Class 3 semi-final.
Bhavina Patel wins second successive bronze
Bhavina, a former Paralympics silver medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, suffered a straight-games defeat against Zhang, an eight-time Paralympic gold medallist.The 39-year-old from Gujarat won silver at the 2018 Asian Para Games and bronze at the 2022 edition. Her latest medal gives her a second successive bronze at the continental event.Zhang, 40, had won silver at the previous Asian Para Games.The Class 4-5 category is for wheelchair athletes with lower-limb impairments who have good upper-body control.
Sonalben Patel goes down to defending champion
Sonalben could not get past defending champion Jiyu Yoon in the Class 3 semi-final. The South Korean, a three-time Paralympic medallist, won the match in straight games.Sonalben had earlier won silver in doubles at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.The Class 3 category is for wheelchair athletes who have limited trunk control and poor sitting balance but normal or near-normal arm and hand function.
