Aichi-Nagoya, 20 October (H.S.): Indian para-table tennis player Prachi Pandey won the bronze medal in the women’s singles Class 6 event at the 2026 Asian Para Games. She lost her semifinal match against Iraq’s Najla Al-Dayyeni 9-11, 2-11, 8-11 but secured a place on the podium. Her medal marked India’s fourth para-table tennis medal of the day.

Earlier, Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel and Baby Sahana Ravi had also won bronze medals in their respective women’s singles categories. With these four medals, Indian athletes have delivered a particularly notable performance in the standing categories of para table tennis. India had not previously won a medal in these categories in the history of the Asian Para Games.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Prachi pursued an engineering education before deciding to build a career in sport. She earned an MTech degree from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh and worked as a software developer from 2020 until early 2023. She subsequently decided to devote herself full-time to para table tennis.

At the domestic level, Prachi won the women’s singles title at the National Para Table Tennis Championships in both 2022 and 2023. She also claimed gold at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games, held in December 2023. In recognition of her performances, the Uttar Pradesh government honoured her with the state’s Best Para Athlete Award in 2023. She went on to win another gold medal at the 2025 Khelo India Para Games.

On the international stage, Prachi won her first International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) medal at the 2023 Brazil Para Open. She has since continued to earn medals at various international competitions. In 2026, she won bronze in women’s singles Class 6 at the World Para Future event in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, followed by silver in women’s singles Class 6-7 at the World Para Future event in Gold Coast, Australia.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar