Asian Games 2026: PV Sindhu's defeat ends India's badminton campaign
What's the story
India's badminton campaign at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came to a disappointing end on Sunday. Star shuttlers PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda were knocked out in the women's singles quarter-finals at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. Sindhu, ranked 11th in the BWF Rankings, lost to world No. 4 Chen Yufei of China. Meanwhile, Hooda was defeated by Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.
Match details
Chen Yufei beats Sindhu
Sindhu started strong against the higher-ranked Chinese player, taking an early lead.
She led 11-8 at the break and continued to dominate, winning the first game.
However, Chen came back in the second game and forced a decider with her aggressive play.
The final game was all about Chen as she easily won it to end Sindhu's medal hopes at the Asian Games.
Quarter-final clash
Yamaguchi edges past Hooda
Hooda gave a tough fight to three-time world champion Yamaguchi, pushing her to three games.
After losing the first game, she made a strong comeback in the second and forced a decider.
The third game was closely contested, with both players tied at 5-5 at one point.
However, Yamaguchi held her nerve and closed out the match, ending Hooda's hopes of winning an Asian Games medal on debut.
Early exits
India also lost in women's doubles, mixed doubles
India's hopes in women's doubles ended as Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto fought well but eventually lost to China's Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping.
These early exits meant that India finished without a medal in all five individual badminton events at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
Information
Bronze in men's team badminton
Notably, 2014 was the last Asian Games edition where India didn't win a medal in the individual badminton events. However, India did win the bronze medal in the men's team badminton at the 2026 Games after reaching the semi-finals. The side lost 1-3 to China.