India face Japan in Aichi-Nagoya quarter-finals with PV Sindhu central to women's medal bid

India's men's and women's badminton teams will meet host nation Japan in the quarter-finals of the team events in Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday, September 22.

The draw pits both Indian sides against a strong Japanese contingent, with the women's team seeking their first podium finish in the event since a bronze in 2014 and the men's side entering as runners-up from 2022. The women's tie is scheduled to begin at 6am IST after Japan received a bye into the quarter-finals, and India reached this stage by beating Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening-round match on Sunday.

PV Sindhu carries heavy responsibility for the women's side, named both for the opening singles and the second doubles on Tuesday where she will partner Tanisha Crasto. India chose Sindhu and Crasto over the less experienced Simran Singhi and Kavipriya Selvam for the doubles slot.

Sindhu opens the tie against Akane Yamaguchi, the world No. 3 and a World Championships silver medallist; their head-to-head stands at 16-14 in Sindhu's favour and Sindhu won their latest meeting at the Japan Open in July. With Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma scheduled for the second and third singles respectively, India will rely on Sindhu for an early advantage.

In selecting their singles, Japan have opted for Nozomi Okuhara and 20-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki, who is ranked No. 7 while Okuhara is No. 10. Japan boast three players inside the women's singles top 10; Sindhu is listed at No. 11, Unnati at No. 24 and Tanvi at No. 26.

India's doubles hopes rest on World Championships bronze medallists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, who will face the world No. 3 pairing of Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. India will also field the doubles match PV Sindhu/Tanisha Crasto against Kie Nakanishi/Rin Uesaka. The full scheduled order for the women's tie is: WS 1: PV Sindhu (11) vs Akane Yamaguchi (3); WS 2: Unnati Hooda (24) vs Tomoka Miyazaki (7); WD 1: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand (26) vs Yuki Fukushima/Matsumoto Mayu (3); WD 2: PV Sindhu/Tanisha Crasto vs Kie Nakanishi/Rin Uesaka; WS 3: Tanvi Sharma (26) vs Nozomi Okuhara (10).

The men's team advanced after a 3-0 victory over Bangladesh and carry confidence into their quarter-final, but they are mindful of Japan's threat after losing 2-3 to the same opponents earlier this year at the Badminton Asia Team Championships. In that meeting India led 2-0 following wins for Ayush Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, but dropped the last three matches; India were without Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth for that tie.

India fielded Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth — all winners in the Bangladesh tie — and arrive with a full-strength squad available for selection. Japan rested Kodai Naraoka in their 3-0 win over Kazakhstan; Naraoka is expected to spearhead Japan's challenge and could be matched against Lakshya, against whom he has won six of eight meetings including their last three encounters on the international circuit. Ayush Shetty defeated Naraoka at the Australian Open last year, HS Prannoy has a 10-12 win-loss record in 2026, and India will rely on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty fresh from their China Masters title along with MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan as the second doubles pairing.

A victory in the women's quarter-final would advance India to the semi-finals and guarantee at least a bronze medal; both Indian teams face Japan in their respective quarter-finals on Tuesday, September 22 in Aichi-Nagoya.