Asian Games 2026: Sindhu, Ayush and Unnati advance in Nagoya; Lakshya Sen exits in second round
P.V. Sindhu, Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda won their singles matches and moved into the next rounds at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Saturday, September 26, 2026, while Lakshya Sen was eliminated in the second round.
Sindhu, listed as world No. 11, defeated Chinese Taipei’s world No. 17 Chiu Pin-chian 21-19, 21-14 after receiving a first-round bye; Ayush Shetty, a finalist at the Badminton Asia Championships, beat Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-7; and Unnati Hooda, a three-time BWF Super 100 winner, overcame Malaysia’s Ling Ching Wong 21-14, 20-22, 21-19. Lakshya Sen, ranked world No. 14, lost to former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 12-21, 21-15, 14-21 in a match lasting more than an hour.
In Sindhu’s second-round match, Chiu opened strongly and led 11-10 at the mid-game interval of the first game, but Sindhu recovered to reach 19-16 and converted a game point after Chiu saved two with a net chord and rally; the Indian then took control in the second game, opening 8-4, reaching the interval 11-8 and converting six match points to close out the match. Sindhu will next face Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki.
Ayush produced a one-sided second-round victory, defeating Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-7 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals and set up a meeting with Chinese Taipei’s third seed Chou Tien Chen. The scoreline underlined Ayush’s attacking edge in the match and secured his place in the next round.
Unnati Hooda required three games to see off Ling Ching Wong 21-14, 20-22, 21-19; she will meet Indonesia’s sixth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani in the third round. The victory adds to Unnati’s recent run of form referenced by her three BWF Super 100 titles mentioned in the report.
Lakshya Sen’s second-round loss to Loh Kean Yew unfolded with Sen leading 5-1 early before Loh produced a 10-point streak to take the first game; Sen recovered to win the second, but Loh led 11-6 in the decider, weathered a brief Sen fightback that reduced the gap to 13-14, and then moved to 19-14 before closing out the match 21-14. The defeat followed the previous day’s surprise exit of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in men’s doubles.
Sen’s individual medal drought at the Asian Games continued despite his prior achievements listed in the report: Commonwealth Games gold in 2022, a fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics, a team silver from the last edition at Hangzhou and a team bronze won on Wednesday, September 23. Loh Kean Yew advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after his victory.
Sindhu will face Tomoka Miyazaki, Ayush Shetty meets Chou Tien Chen and Unnati Hooda takes on Putri Kusuma Wardani in their respective upcoming matches; Loh Kean Yew progresses to the pre-quarterfinals following his win.
