Aichi-Nagoya, 20 October (H.S.): India’s Jehan Dorab Madan has won the bronze medal in the men’s singles Class 1 table tennis event at the 2026 Asian Para Games. This is India’s first and only medal in the event.

Jehan won one of his four matches in the round-robin stage, suffering defeats in the other three. He began his campaign with a 3-1 victory over compatriot Sandeep Dangi. However, he subsequently lost to Saudi Arabia’s Rakan Al-Salmi, Kazakhstan’s Ardak Nurmagambetov and South Korea’s Hyunuk Kim. Despite finishing fourth in his pool, Jehan secured one of the two bronze medals awarded in the event.

Hailing from Chennai, Jehan is a former racing driver. In 2007, he sustained a spinal injury in a road accident during a business trip to Mumbai, leaving him paralysed from the chest down. However, he remained connected to sports and took up para table tennis in 2021.

Within just a few months of entering the sport, he won the silver medal in the men’s singles Class 1 event at the National Para Table Tennis Championships. He subsequently claimed his first international gold medal at the ITTF Egypt Para Open in 2023.

In 2025, Jehan won bronze in the men’s singles Class 1 event at the Asian Para Table Tennis Championships. In 2026, he also secured bronze medals at World Para Table Tennis competitions held in Lahti and Nakhon Ratchasima.

At International Table Tennis Federation competitions, Jehan has so far accumulated 13 medals, comprising one gold, four silver and eight bronze medals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar