Saina Nehwal: P.V. Sindhu has a very good chance at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan

Saina Nehwal said on Friday in a virtual media interaction that P.V. Sindhu has a very good chance of winning at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. She pointed to Sindhu’s recent Japan Open title and her near-win over Wang Zhi at the World Championship round-of-16 as reasons for optimism.

Sindhu, 31, recovered from a dip in form to claim the Japan Open a few months ago, delivering an straight-games victory over local favourite Akane Yamaguchi in the final. The win made Sindhu the first Indian shuttler to lift the Japan Open title. The Japan Open success followed the close World Championship round-of-16 contest with Wang Zhi.

“Sometimes, at the highest level, you go up and down over one or two years. But having won the Japan Open, and coming close to defeating Wang Zhi in the World Championship round-of-16, I think Sindhu has a very good chance of winning at the Asian Games,” Saina said in a virtual media interaction on Friday.

“And it’s in Japan, where she has always performed well. She is experienced. She is a big tournament player; I’ve never seen her getting tense. She is always very disciplined and she concentrates very well,” Saina, the first Indian woman badminton player to reach the World No.1 ranking, added.

Saina also expressed confidence in India’s broader badminton contingent, saying: “We have winners in most events - Sindhu, Tanvi (Sharma) and Ashmita (Chaliha), Ayush (Shetty) in men’s singles, and the men’s doubles combination of Satwik and Chirag. Treesa (Jolly) and Gayatri (Gopichand) won the bronze medal in the World Championships. Overall, the team looks very strong and confident. Of course, there are big expectations in these big tournaments, which adds a little bit more pressure. But I would say that we can definitely come back with three medals at least,” Saina said.

Watch Asian Games 2026 starting September 19, 2026, live and exclusive on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV.