Asian Games 2026: PV Sindhu loses; Indian Women's team out in quarterfinals

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The Indian women’s badminton squad were knocked out of medal contention at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday, losing 1-3 to host nation Japan in the quarterfinal round.

Despite moments of brilliance, including an opening-game win by two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu against long-time rival Akane Yamaguchi and a spirited doubles performance from Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the overall tie proved difficult for the Indian squad.

PV Sindhu started the singles encounter against Yamaguchi competitively and drew the first blood. Trailing 9-11 at the first break, the Indian fought back to level the score at 12-12 and 18-18 before saving game point to claim a hard-fought 23-21 opening game. However, Yamaguchi regrouped in the second to win 21-18, forcing a decider. The Japanese star took total control in the final game, pulling ahead 11-4 at the break to close out an 11-21 victory and hand Japan a crucial 1-0 lead.

Indian Women’s badminton team fall short in QF

In the second match, young Indian star Unnati Hooda faced Tomoka Miyazaki. Hooda held a slim 11-10 advantage at the interval of the first game but ultimately lost the game 16-21. She responded strongly in the second round, opening up an 11-4 lead, only for Miyazaki to mount a comeback and claim the game 21-18, doubling Japan’s aggregate advantage to 2-0.

India’s only breakthrough arrived in the crucial third tie, where the women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand took on the world number three pairing of Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Holding an 11-10 lead at the break, the Indian pair took the first game 21-17. They maintained momentum in the second, leading 11-8 at the break before completing a straight-games victory, keeping India’s campaign alive at 2-1.

The comeback effort was stopped in the fourth round, where Tanvi Sharma took the court against Nozomi Okuhara. Okuhara controlled the match throughout, taking the first game 21-12 and building an 11-4 interval lead in the second before closing it out 21-10, sealing the 3-1 quarterfinal tie victory for Japan.

In the men’s department, India secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Bangladesh in the men’s badminton team event at the Asian Games 2026, guided by comfortable singles victories from Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Kidambi Srikanth.

(With inputs from ANI)

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