Sindhu and Unnati lose in quarters as India win no individual badminton medals at Asian Games
P.V. Sindhu and Unnati Hooda were eliminated in the women's singles quarterfinals at the Asian Games in Nagoya on September 27, 2026, as India failed to secure a medal in the individual badminton events.
India had collected three badminton medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou — the men's team silver, a men's doubles gold for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and a bronze for H.S. Prannoy — but at Nagoya the Indian men's team managed only a bronze while no player progressed to the semifinals in individual categories, which would have guaranteed a medal.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, the 31-year-old, lost to Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 after being required to play her third match in less than 24 hours; after the match she said, “I think I should have finished it off in the second set itself, but I couldn’t. Overall, it was not that an easy game, and I would get easy points. There were really long rallies.”
Match details show Sindhu dominating early phases — moving from 9-2 to 11-8 at the mid-game break and extending a lead to 18-11 before taking the first game — but Chen closed the second set and surged in the decider, with rallies averaging 43 shots and Chen winning 10 of the next 11 points late in the third to seal the outcome; Sindhu added, “It’s a bit hurtful but I need to recover from this. It would have been good if I would have gone to the semifinals. Unfortunate but never mind, these things keep happening. It’s important to get back stronger.”
Nineteen-year-old Unnati Hooda went down 16-21, 21-14, 17-21 to three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi, who pulled away in the first set after an 8-3 run to lead 11-4 at the interval; Hooda recovered to take the second by winning eight successive points but Yamaguchi regained the initiative in a tight decider and converted match points to end Hooda's campaign.
In doubles action, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand — who had won a maiden World Championships bronze last month — were beaten 18-21, 9-21 by Malaysian world No. 5 pairing Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the women's doubles quarterfinals, while the mixed doubles duo Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto pushed world No. 1 China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping before losing 14-21, 21-18, 18-21; Tanisha said, “It’s disappointing not to win a medal, but we are proud of the effort both of us have made. We fought till the last point,” and added, “It is one of the best we played against the Chinese. We have made a lot of improvement. There is a lot of hunger and lot more confidence.”
Tournament scheduling issues forced several Indian players — including Sindhu, Hooda and Ayush Shetty — to play two matches within a matter of hours on Saturday, September 26, a factor noted in reports of the quarterfinal exits.
With no Indian reaching a semifinal in any individual badminton category, India finished the Asian Games without an individual badminton medal, while the men's team returned with a bronze from Nagoya.
