Asian Games 2026: Indian men secure a medal with 3-0 win over Japan; women lose 1-3

India's men's badminton team guaranteed a medal while the women's side were eliminated after facing host Japan at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in the Asian Games, the men winning 3-0 and the women losing 1-3. The men's victory came in the quarterfinal stage.

It is the first time in 40 years that the Indian men's team has won back-to-back medals at the Asian Games, while the women continue to wait for their first medal since the bronze in 2014. Both ties were played at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in front of a partisan home crowd.

Lakshya Sen opened the men's quarterfinal by coming back from a game down to beat Kodai Naraoka; he lost the opening game 11-21, recovered to win the second 21-5 — including a massive 16-point lead — and, after trailing 13-19 in the decider, ran off eight consecutive points to take the match and put India 1-0 ahead. The 25-year-old had looked vulnerable after the first game, but produced the comeback that set the tone for the tie.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty followed by defeating Hoki Takuro and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 24-22 in 56 minutes to make it 2-0, and Ayush Shetty then sealed the 3-0 win with a 21-10, 21-19 victory over Koki Watanabe. The 21-year-old Ayush recorded his first win in three meetings against Watanabe to complete the tie.

The Indian women's team could not match that momentum. P.V. Sindhu, starting the tie, won the opening exchanges against World No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi but lost 23-21, 18-21, 6-21; Sindhu, who has beaten Yamaguchi thrice in four meetings this year, faded in the third game. Unnati Hooda was beaten 16-21, 18-21 by 2022 World Junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki as Japan, buoyed by a vociferous crowd, moved 2-0 ahead.

Recent World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand provided a respite with a 21-17, 21-16 win over the world No.3 doubles pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, but former world champion Nozomi Okuhara outplayed Tanvi Sharma 21-12, 21-10 in just 18 minutes to wrap up the tie for Japan.

The men's 3-0 quarterfinal victory guarantees India a place on the podium, ensuring back-to-back Asian Games medals for the first time in 40 years, while the women's 1-3 loss leaves them still awaiting a return to the medals table since 2014.