Win or lose in the WH1-WH2 mixed doubles final at BAHRAIN Para Badminton World Championships 2026 today, Prem Kumar Ale and Alphia James have already made themselves and India proud.
The world No.3 pair advanced to the gold medal contest with Qu Zi Mo/Liu Yu Tong after seeing off top seeds Jaime Aranguiz/Man Kei To 21-14 21-15 on Thursday. It is the first time India have medalled in mixed doubles in the wheelchair category.
“I’m very proud. We’ve been waiting a long time for this. We hope to do well in the final,” said Ale.
For James, defeating the top seeds en route to at least a silver makes the moment sweeter.
“We lost to them once but we’ve beaten them at a big tournament. And it’s my first World Championships medal. This feels good,” she said.
Following the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Ale and James decided to become a permanent pairing after previously competing with different partners.
At the last edition, Ale exited in the quarterfinals partnering Turkiye’s Emine Seckin while James lost both her WH2 women’s singles group matches at her debut World Championships.
“To achieve this in such a short time, it is big. Way to go!” Ale exclaimed.
Standing between them and gold are defending champions Qu and Liu, who start the final as favourites. But James sees that as an advantage.
“The pressure will be on them. Also, now I have confidence I can perform my best,” said the 25-year-old.
Before this breakthrough, India’s only wheelchair medal at the World Championships came 13 years ago, when Sanjeev Kumar won WH2 men’s doubles alongside Hong Kong China’s Chan Ho Yuen Daniel.
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