NEW DELHI: For Diya Chitale, the last seven days have been an emotional roller coaster. Exactly a week after losing Peter Engel, her coach since 2015, Diya stood on the Asian Games podium in Nagoya with the bronze medal around her neck, alongside Manush Shah. The duo had their moments against China’s top pairing of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha before going down (0-4) 8-11, 5-11, 8-11, 2-11 in the mixed doubles semifinals at Sky Hall Toyota in Nagoya, settling for bronze. Despite the loss, Diya and Shah secured India’s first table-tennis medal of the ongoing Games.For Diya, Engel — who died on Sept 18 at 72 — was far more than a coach. “I had been working with Engel sir since 2015 and he is the person who completely developed my game. He was my go-to person for everything in TT,” she told TOI from Nagoya. Apart from the personal tragedy, there was also a lean spell for Diya and Shah to overcome. The world No. 8 mixed doubles pair had won two titles and finished runners-up once early in 2026, but their results dipped from June onwards. “I always believed that we are among the top few pairs and we can beat any pair on our day,” she said. Their belief was tested earlier on Friday.Drawn against Hong Kong’s world No. 4 Doo Hoi Kem and Wong Chun Ting, a pair they had lost to three times, the Indians knew execution had to be precise. They delivered, winning 3-1 (11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5) to assure the nation its first TT medal of the Games before losing in semifinals. “We had played against them thrice and lost all our matches, but the last two matches were pretty close,” Diya said. “Hence we knew that if we had a clear strategy and if we could execute that well, we had a good chance. And we were able to do that today.”The medal carries weight far beyond the colour. It is India’s second Asian Games mixed doubles medal, after Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra’s bronze in Jakarta in 2018. “Winning a medal at the Games in our sport is huge and extra sweet since all the powerhouses in TT come from Asia — China, Japan, South Korea and so on,” she said. Diya dedicated her medal to Engel, paying her a personal tribute. “It would have been wonderful for him to see me achieve this today. This medal is for him.”
