Asian Games 2026 badminton draw: Lakshya Sen to meet Loh Kean Yew; PV Sindhu drawn vs Letshanaa
On Thursday the badminton draws for the Asian Games 2026 were released, pairing India’s Lakshya Sen with Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in round two and setting PV Sindhu to face Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan. Three Indian shuttlers received byes into the second round.
Individual badminton competition opens on September 25, with the round of 32 and pre-quarterfinal ties scheduled for September 26. Quarter-finals are set for September 27, semi-finals for September 28 and finals for September 29. The tournament’s medal matches will be played on September 28 and 29, with those days featuring semi-finals and finals across all five categories.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen has a first-round bye and will begin his campaign against Loh Kean Yew in the second round. Ayush Shetty is slated to face the winner of Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev and Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Larosh in round two and could meet Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in the third round.
PV Sindhu will play Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan in the Round of 32 after receiving a first-round bye and could later face Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki and China’s Chen Yufei in subsequent rounds. Unnati Hooda is drawn against North Korea’s Song Yu Mi in the round of 64.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will open against Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul, with a possible semi-final meeting against South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae. Arjun M.R. and Hariharan Amsakarunan have been drawn to play Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in their opening match.
In women’s doubles, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will face Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu-yan, while Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi are paired with Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari. India has two entries each in men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles.
Players who received byes, including Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu, are scheduled to make their first appearances in the Round of 32 on September 26.