PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda Exit As India Go Medal-less In Asian Games Badminton
India endured a disappointing end to their individual badminton campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, with PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda losing their respective women’s singles quarterfinals in Nagoya on Sunday.
The Indian shuttlers failed to reach the semifinals in any category, missing out on medals after a series of closely contested matches. India had won three badminton medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, including men’s doubles gold for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
PV Sindhu Loses To Olympic Champion Chen Yu Fei
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu went down 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 against Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yu Fei in the women’s singles quarterfinal.
Playing her third match in less than 24 hours, Sindhu began strongly and dominated the opening game with aggressive shot-making and effective movement across the court.
She built an early lead and maintained control to take the first game 21-11.
Chen responded in the second game, establishing an early advantage. Sindhu fought back to level the score and remained competitive through the middle stages, but the Chinese shuttler forced a decider with an 18-21 win.
In the third game, Chen raced to a 4-0 lead and maintained her advantage. She then won 10 of the next 11 points after the interval to seal the match.
Sindhu admitted that she had missed an opportunity to finish the contest in the second game.
“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 or I would get easy points. There were really long rallies,” she said.
The Indian shuttler expressed disappointment but vowed to recover and return stronger.
“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,” she added.
Unnati Hooda Falls Short Against Akane Yamaguchi
Nineteen-year-old Unnati Hooda put up a spirited fight before losing 16-21, 21-14, 17-21 to three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s singles quarterfinal.
Yamaguchi controlled the opening game with a variety of attacking strokes and deceptive drops, building a substantial lead before taking it 21-16.
Hooda responded impressively in the second game, improving her shot placement and extending rallies to put the Japanese shuttler under pressure.
The Indian fought back from an early deficit and took control of the game, winning eight consecutive points at one stage to force a decider with a 21-14 victory.
The final game remained closely contested, with both players trading points. Yamaguchi gained a crucial advantage in the closing stages and held on to win 21-17, ending Hooda’s campaign.
Treesa-Gayatri, Tanisha-Dhruv Also Exit
India’s women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand suffered a 18-21, 9-21 defeat against Malaysia’s world No. 5 combination of Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
The Indian duo, who won their maiden World Championships bronze last month, could not maintain their momentum against the Malaysian pair.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto produced a determined performance before losing 14-21, 21-18, 18-21 to China’s world No. 1 pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.
Tanisha said the pair were disappointed to miss out on a medal but remained encouraged by their performance.
“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,” she said.
She added that the match reflected their progress and growing confidence.
“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.”
Scheduling Concerns Add To India鈥檚 Badminton Setbacks
The Indian players also faced a demanding schedule during the competition, with Sindhu, Hooda and Ayush Shetty among those required to play two matches within a few hours on Saturday.
Sindhu, in particular, had played her second match well past midnight before taking on Chen in the quarterfinals.
India’s individual badminton campaign ended without a medal, although the men’s team had secured bronze earlier in the competition.
