Published:
India’s para table tennis campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games received a boost as Sonalben Patel and Prachi Pandey advanced to the semifinals in their respective women’s singles classes, assuring the country of two medals. The progress came in Japan during the continental multi-sport event, which is scheduled to run from October 18 to 24, 2026.
Sonalben reached the last four in women’s singles Class 3, while Prachi progressed in Class 6. Their semifinal places guarantee India a podium finish in both events, although the colour of the medals will depend on their remaining matches.
Sonalben’s run in the women’s singles Class 3 event included a group-stage victory over Japan’s Yuka Ikeyama, whom she defeated 3-0, with game scores of 11-6, 11-7 and 11-3, according to the published results. She later secured another 3-0 win in the knockout phase to move into the semifinals.
The available results list a loss to South Korea’s Migyu Lee in an earlier group match, with Sonalben going down 3-0. Her progress despite that setback underlines the importance of the remaining group and knockout results in determining the final standings and advancement in a multi-stage competition.
Her semifinal berth assures a medal for India in women’s Class 3. She will have the opportunity to improve that result by winning her next match and reaching the final; a defeat in the semifinal would still leave her with a bronze medal under the event’s medal format.
Prachi Pandey advanced to the women’s singles Class 6 semifinals, confirming another Indian medal in para table tennis. Available tournament results show that she entered the knockout stage after recording one win and one defeat in her group, but the accessible match listing did not provide a verified semifinal score or opponent for this report.
Prachi has already shown her ability to compete internationally. India’s Press Information Bureau reported in July 2026 that she won bronze in the women’s singles at the ITTF World Para Future tournament in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The same government report identified her as a Class 6 athlete and said she was ranked fourth in Asia in that category at the time of publication.
Those earlier results provide context for her Asian Para Games campaign, but the medal assured by reaching the semifinal is a separate achievement at the continental event. Her next match will determine whether she advances to the gold-medal contest or finishes with bronze.
Reaching the semifinals guarantees a medal in individual table tennis because both semifinal losers receive bronze. The progress of Sonalben and Prachi therefore gives India two confirmed podium finishes from these women’s singles events, even though neither player’s final medal colour is decided yet.
The two athletes are competing in different sport classes. Sonalben’s event is Class 3 and Prachi’s is Class 6, classifications used in para table tennis to group athletes according to their functional abilities. Their results add to India’s wider campaign at the 2026 Asian Para Games, where athletes are competing across multiple sports in Aichi-Nagoya.
The Indian contingent has entered the event following a strong recent run in para sport. In July, the Press Information Bureau highlighted Prachi’s international medal and participation in the World Para Future tournament, while the Asian Para Games now provide another major opportunity to test the country’s athletes against leading competitors from across the continent.
Both players are set to continue in the semifinal stage of their respective events. A win would take either athlete into the final and create a chance to compete for gold or silver; a loss would result in bronze. The exact opponents and scores should be confirmed against the official competition results before publication, as those details were not available in the sources reviewed for this article.
For Indian fans, the immediate takeaway is that Sonalben Patel and Prachi Pandey have already ensured medals for the country in women’s para table tennis. Their remaining matches will determine whether those assured medals become silver or gold, while their semifinal appearances represent a meaningful result for India’s para table tennis team at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
