Asian Games 2026: Projected route for India’s men’s badminton team to the final
India’s men’s badminton team will begin its Asian Games 2026 campaign in Aichi-Nagoya with a Round of 16 match against Bangladesh, and the draw projects India could meet Japan in the quarter-finals, China in the semi-finals and either Indonesia or Malaysia in the final.
India arrive in Aichi-Nagoya aiming to improve on their silver-medal finish at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where they reached the final before losing to China. The squad blends experience and depth, featuring Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, reigning Asian Games men’s doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, plus Ayush Shetty and the doubles pairing of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan.
In the Round of 16 against Bangladesh, India are on paper the stronger side with greater experience at the highest level. Singles options such as Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty add depth, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lead India’s doubles resources. Bangladesh will face a difficult task across the five-match tie and India will aim to close out the contest without letting the tie become complicated.
Projected quarter-final opposition Japan bring multiple experienced singles players, including Kenta Nishimoto, Yushi Tanaka and Koki Watanabe, and doubles combinations such as Takuro Hoki–Yugo Kobayashi and Yuta Watanabe. A potential singles meeting between Lakshya Sen and Kodai Naraoka is flagged as particularly important, and Japan’s home support is noted as an additional factor for that tie.
If India advance to the semi-finals they are projected to face China, whose squad names listed include Shi Yuqi, Li Shi Feng and Lu Guang Zu in singles and a doubles roster featuring Feng Yan Zhe, He Ji Ting, Jiang Zhen Bang, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The first two matches in such a tie could be decisive, and India will require strong contributions in both singles and doubles, with the Satwik–Chirag and MR Arjun–Hariharan Amsakarunan pairings highlighted for their potential importance.
From the opposite half of the draw, Indonesia and Malaysia are identified as possible final opponents, with Indonesia noted for its men’s doubles strength and Malaysia described as having the quality to challenge for a final berth. Chinese Taipei is mentioned as a possible dark horse in the same half as Indonesia and Malaysia, and those teams will also need to negotiate difficult routes to reach a final against India.
India’s projected path therefore reads: Round of 16 – Bangladesh; Quarter-final – Japan; Semi-final – China; Final – Indonesia/Malaysia/Chinese Taipei, and India will open their campaign against Bangladesh in the Round of 16.
