E-Paper
Ludhiana’s para table-tennis star bags gold in international championship
29-year-old Shubham won a gold in singles, bronze in mixed doubles and doubles and beat Japan’s Tsuyoshi Watanabe with a score line of 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 in the final.
Ludhiana: City boy Shubham Wadhwa has won three medals, including a gold, at the recently concluded International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Para Future Gold Coast, 2026.
29-year-old Shubham won a gold in singles, bronze in mixed doubles and doubles.
Wadhwa beat Japan’s Tsuyoshi Watanabe with a score line of 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 in the final.
Partnering with Paralympic medallist Bhavina Patel, Wadhwa secured a bronze medal after a hard-fought campaign that saw them outplay several top-seeded pairs before a narrow semi-final exit. In Men’s Doubles, teaming up with Rishit Nathwani, Wadhwa claimed his second Bronze.
He expressed gratitude to his coach and Dewaker Jain Prime Steel Processors Private Limited, Ludhiana, for their constant support.
Shubham had a bike accident in 2016 and remained bedridden for three years before finding a second lease on life in Table Tennis. He earned 14 international medals ever since.
“After the accident my lower body became paralysed. I was bedridden for three months. I used to play table tennis before the accident and my friends told me to return to the game to start a second innings,” Shubam recalled.
He has 7 national gold medals to his name. His first nationals came in 2022 and had already represented India in Spain in a championship in 2023.
He reached the quarterfinals in the Asian Championship in China last year.
Shubham’s journey is supported by his elder brother Ankush, who accompanies him on his tours.
“After his accident, it took him two to three years to recover. He played table tennis in school and as he started recovering, his friends asked him to join para table tennis. We supported him. And he was able to chart his own course of success,” Ankush added.
