India Women’s Badminton Team Exit Asian Games After Japan Loss
India’s women’s badminton team bowed out of the Asian Games without a medal after losing 1-3 to Japan in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, despite a strong performance from Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu fought hard against world No.3 Akane Yamaguchi in the opening singles, but eventually went down 23-21, 18-21, 6-21.
Unnati Hooda then lost 16-21, 18-21 to world No.7 Tomoka Miyazaki, leaving India 0-2 down.
World Championships bronze medallists Treesa and Gayatri revived India’s hopes with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. However, Tanvi Sharma could not extend the contest, losing 12-21, 10-21 to former world champion Nozomi Okuhara as Japan sealed the tie.
PV Sindhu Battles Akane Yamaguchi
Sindhu made a strong start against Yamaguchi, recovering from 13-17 down to take the opening game 23-21.
The two former world champions produced several lengthy rallies, with exchanges regularly stretching beyond 30 shots. Yamaguchi moved ahead at the interval in the second game, but Sindhu again threatened a comeback after trailing 12-17.
The Japanese, however, held her composure to level the match at 21-18.
Sindhu struggled to maintain the same intensity in the decider and fell 6-14 behind. Yamaguchi soon earned 10 match points and closed out the contest with a precise return.
Treesa-Gayatri Keep India Alive
With India needing a win to stay in the Asian Games badminton contest, Treesa and Gayatri delivered a composed performance.
The newly crowned World Championships bronze medallists defeated Fukushima and Matsumoto 21-17, 21-16 to reduce Japan’s lead to 2-1.
The victory briefly kept India’s medal hopes alive, but the singles department ultimately proved decisive.
Unnati had earlier struggled against Miyazaki, who won the 2022 World Junior Championships and currently sits at No.7 in the world rankings.
Japan Seal Quarterfinal Victory
Tanvi Sharma faced an experienced opponent in Okuhara in the fourth match.
The former world champion controlled the contest from the beginning and won 21-12, 21-10, giving Japan an unassailable 3-1 lead.
The result ended India’s women’s team campaign at the Asian Games, with Treesa and Gayatri’s victory the only success for the Indian side in the quarterfinal tie.
India will now turn its attention to the individual badminton events at the Games.
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Meta Description: India women’s badminton team lost 1-3 to Japan in the Asian Games 2026 quarterfinals despite a win by Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
