PV Sindhu says 'I'm hurting' after quarter-final defeat to Chen Yufei at Asian Games 2026
PV Sindhu lost to China’s Chen Yufei 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 in the badminton women’s singles quarter-finals at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Sunday, September 27, and later posted on X that her campaign was over and she was in pain. "My Asian Games campaign is over, and I’m hurting," she wrote as she addressed the defeat.
Sindhu said the scoreline did not tell the full story of the match, noting she started strongly with sharp, steep smashes to take the first game before Chen’s patience extended rallies and fatigue became decisive. "Long, demanding rallies at the most critical moments turned the match. I had my chance. Letting it slip hurts," Sindhu said, describing how the momentum shifted after the opening game.
The Indian player pointed to an exhausting schedule as a key factor. Her previous-day match began late after being moved to another court and dragged on until around 1 AM; she said she reached her hotel by 1:30 AM, had dinner, completed recovery exercises and went to sleep close to 3 AM before waking around 8:30 AM for the quarter-final, which started around 1:30 PM. Sindhu wrote: "Three matches in 18 hours… It took a toll."
Despite the disappointment, Sindhu framed the pain as a sign of motivation and a prompt to work on errors with her coaching staff. "I’m hurting, but that’s okay. I’m glad it still means enough to hurt this much. I still want this," she wrote, adding, "We will fix it." She also reflected on her career in the post, saying, "One painful result cannot define a journey that means so much." She ended her message by thanking supporters and stating, "I’ll go again,".
Other players voiced frustration at the tournament schedule. India’s Unnati Hooda also exited in the quarter-finals, losing to Akane Yamaguchi 16-21, 21-14, 17-21, and said the schedule "could have been managed better." Players from other countries, including Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, were reported to have complained about the same tiring timetable.
Tournament timing figures quoted in coverage noted that Sindhu played three singles matches in about 24 hours, with her third-round match finishing around 1 AM and her quarter-final beginning around 1:30 PM the following day.
Sindhu’s defeat ended her Asian Games campaign, and India did not win any individual badminton medal in Aichi-Nagoya; the country’s only badminton podium finish at these Games was a bronze in the men’s team event.
