Harmeet Desai-Yashaswini Ghorpade End India's 72-Year Mixed Doubles Wait at Asian Table Tennis Championships

24 October 2026National

Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade won bronze in mixed doubles at the 2026 Asian Table Tennis Championships in Tashkent, India's first mixed doubles medal at the event in 72 years. The pair beat South Korea's Park Ganghyeon and Lee Daeun 3-2 in the quarter-final before losing the semi-final to Japan's Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto in straight games on 23 October 2026. India's previous mixed doubles medal was a silver by Yatin Vyas and Meena Parande in 1954; Kalyanpur Jayant and Gool Nasikwala took gold at the inaugural 1952 edition. The medal extends a strong 2026 that included India's Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships title.

Static GK

The Asian Table Tennis Championships are organised by the Asian Table Tennis Union, founded in 1972; the first edition was held in 1952 | Table tennis is governed worldwide by the International Table Tennis Federation, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland | Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the country's currency is the som

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More Sports Current Affairs

Pankaj Advani Wins 2026 World Billiards Championship for His 29th World Title

India's Pankaj Advani won the 2026 World Billiards Championship at the Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall, England, on 23 October 2026, beating home favourite Robert Hall 1,906-1,206 in a five-hour, points-format final. It was the 41-year-old Bengaluru-based cueist's 29th world title and his first World Billiards Championship crown since 2014 - when he also beat Hall in the final. The 60-player event was staged under the World Billiards Limited banner. Advani has won world titles across both billiards and snooker and in the long-up, points and 6-red formats, and remains the only player to have held world crowns in every discipline of cue sport.

GK BytePankaj Advani was born on 24 July 1985 in Pune and is based in Bengaluru | He received the Arjuna Award in 2004, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006, the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2018 | The international governing body for amateur cue sports is the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF)

📅 23 Oct 2026SportsRead complete →

Nihal Sarin and Koneru Humpy Win Board 2 Gold at the 41st European Chess Club Cup in Budva

Bayegan Pendik Sports Chess Club of Turkey won the open section of the 41st European Chess Club Cup at Budva, Montenegro (17-23 October 2026), edging the Czech Republic's Novy Bor Chess Club on tiebreaks after both finished on six wins and a draw from seven rounds. India's Nihal Sarin took individual gold on Board 2 for Novy Bor with an unbeaten 5/6, while Koneru Humpy won Board 2 gold for Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo with 4.5/6 as her club retained the women's team title. Pentala Harikrishna claimed Board 3 silver for Novy Bor and Karthikeyan Murali Board 2 bronze for Elektroprivreda.

GK ByteThe European Chess Club Cup is organised by the European Chess Union, founded in 1985 | FIDE, the world chess federation, was founded in Paris in 1924 with the motto 'Gens una sumus' and is headed by President Arkady Dvorkovich | Koneru Humpy hails from Andhra Pradesh and Nihal Sarin from Thrissur, Kerala

📅 23 Oct 2026SportsRead complete →

India Close the Asian Para Games with a Best-Ever 114 Medals and Fourth Place at Aichi-Nagoya

India closed its competition at the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan with a best-ever 114 medals — 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze — finishing fourth in the standings. The haul betters the 111 medals (29 gold) and fifth place of the Hangzhou edition. Nishad Kumar, who set a Games record of 2.04 m in the men's high jump T47 and also took long jump T47 gold with 7.11 m, and shooter Mona Agarwal, who shot a world record 357.5 in the women's 50 m rifle 3 positions SH1, were named India's flag bearers for the closing ceremony on 24 October 2026.

GK ByteThe Asian Para Games are held every four years under the Asian Paralympic Committee, headquartered in Dubai; the first edition was at Guangzhou in 2010 | The 2026 edition ran from 18 to 24 October with 18 sports and 508 events, making Nagoya the first Japanese host city | The Games motto was 'Imagine One Heart' and the mascot was Uzumin

📅 23 Oct 2026SportsRead complete →

India Reach 47 Medals and Fifth Place at the Asian Para Games as Praveen Kumar and Sachin Khilari Strike Gold

India's tally at the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, reached 47 medals - 12 gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze - by 21 October 2026, placing the country fifth behind China (165 medals, 80 gold), Uzbekistan, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Wednesday's golds came from Ayush Verma (men's shot put F53), Praveen Kumar (men's high jump T64) and Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (men's shot put F46), while Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag took silver in the women's compound doubles archery final against China. India's best haul remains 111 medals (29 gold) at the 2022 edition held in Hangzhou in October 2023.

GK ByteThe Asian Para Games are held every four years under the Asian Paralympic Committee; the first edition was at Guangzhou in 2010 | The 2026 Games run from 18 to 24 October at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with India fielding 168 athletes across 11 sports | Praveen Kumar won men's high jump T64 gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

📅 21 Oct 2026SportsRead complete →

See all Sports →All Current Affairs