India beat Kazakhstan 3-0 to reach Asian Games 2026 women's team quarter-finals

India’s women’s badminton team defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the women’s team event at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan on September 20, 2026. PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma won the three singles matches that secured the tie for India.

Veteran PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, opened the tie against Kazakhstan’s Kamila Smagulova; the Kazakh opponent failed to keep up, losing the opening game 7-2 before going down with a scoreline of 9-21 in the second. Sindhu’s victory provided India with an early 1-0 lead in the fixture.

In the second singles match Unnati Hooda faced Alissa Kuleshova and extended India’s advantage by taking the first game 21-7 and closing out the second 21-10. Hooda’s straight-games win moved the tie to 2-0 in India’s favour.

Tanvi Sharma completed the sweep in the third match against Diana Namenova, winning the second game 21-10 after taking the first game with ease; the 17-year-old had also won the Chinese Taipei Open last month. Sharma’s victory sealed the 3-0 result for India.

Because the singles matches finished the tie in three matches, India’s doubles combinations did not take the court: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela were scheduled to face Alissa Kuleshova/Diana Namenova, and Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi were due to meet Nargiza Rakhmetullayeva/Aisha Zhumabek.

With the win over Kazakhstan, Team India will meet hosts Japan in the quarter-finals; Japan received a bye to the Round of 16. The article noted that, under the knockout format, China — the top seed — could face India in the final. Quarterfinal – Japan; Semifinal – South Korea; Final – China.

India’s quarter-final against Japan is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, from 6:00 AM onwards.