Asian Games: Indian men''s badminton team settles for bronze after 1-3 loss to China
You donβt have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in action during their men's team semi-final match against China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, on September 23, 2026. File | Photo Credit: Reuters
Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty faltered against higher-ranked opponents as the Indian men's team signed off with a bronze medal after going down 1-3 to nemesis China in the semifinals of the Asian Games on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).
India had won the silver medal at the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, where they had lost to China in the final.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the only Indians to win a match as China once again got the better of India.
World No. 14 Lakshya, who had produced a stirring performance to take India to the semifinals, could not quite bring his A game, going down 16-21, 18-21 to world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi in the first singles as India fell 0-1 behind.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag then produced a sensational performance to outwit reigning world champions Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20 in the first doubles to bring India back into the five-match tie.
India levelled the semifinal 1-1 at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
A lot rode on young Ayush, but the world No. 20 could not maintain the required discipline and lost 19-21, 13-21 to world No. 12 Li Shi Feng in the second singles.
The responsibility to keep India afloat then fell on Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun, who took on the scratch pair of He Ji Ting and Liu Yi in the second doubles.
The world No. 25 Indian pair gave it their all but could not tame Ji Ting, who was a last-minute replacement in the team following the sudden illness of Chen Boyang, and Liu, going down 16-21, 21-17, 9-21 as China sealed the tie and secured a place in the final.
Nevertheless, it was a creditable result for the Indian men's team as they secured back-to-back Asian Games team medals for the first time in 40 years, following the bronze medals won in the 1982 and 1986 editions.
Lakshya started strongly, taking an 8-4 lead in the opening game, but Shi Yu Qi fought back to level at 8-8 and then 13-13. Lakshya again reduced the deficit to 16-17, but Shi closed out the game with four straight points.
The second game was closely fought, with the score tied at 4-4 and 7-7 before Shi took an 11-9 lead at the interval. Lakshya kept fighting and moved closer at 14-15 before drawing level. He then briefly took the lead, but Shi regained control with an exceptional net shot and moved to 19-18.
Lakshya's return went wide as Shi earned two match points before the Chinese sealed the contest with a smash.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag dished out a steep attacking game to quickly open up a 4-0 lead before taking an 11-8 advantage at the break despite some good fightback from Liang and Wang.
The Indian pair constructed the rallies well and produced superb interceptions to stay ahead and take the first game comfortably.
After the change of ends, it was a close fight as the two pairs battled hard before Satwik and Chirag managed to take an 11-9 lead. The Indians kept a firm grip on the rallies with their sharp-angled returns to stay ahead, surging to 19-14.
The Chinese pair scripted a mini fightback to cut the deficit to 18-19. The Indians grabbed two match points, but the Chinese saved both with superb returns of serve. The Indians earned a third match point with a precise shot and converted when the Chinese pair went wide.
Coming into the contest on the back of a win over Li at the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year, Ayush looked good in the opening game as he held an 11-10 lead at the mid-game interval. But after some energy-sapping rallies, Li, who was trailing 14-16, grabbed three game points. Ayush saved two with a tight net push and a brutal smash, but Li unleashed a cross-court smash to take the opening game.
Li surged to a 5-0 lead next as Ayush was left to do the catch up act. The Indian tried to play more aggressively but Li took a five-point lead at the break. Ayush unleashed a series of powerful smashes to narrow the gap to 13-16, but he faltered in a flat exchange before a sensational return during a net exchange put Li three points away from victory.
Ayush smashed wide as Li moved to 19-13, before a deceptive inside-out net shot from the Chinese ended with the shuttle dropping on the net. Li earned seven match points and needed just one to seal the contest.
Hariharan and Arjun looked to attack from the word go, but it took more effort to break down the defence of the Chinese pair, both of whom have won world championship silver medals with their respective partners.
Ji Ting and Liu quickly established a 9-4 lead. Though the Indians did well to reduce the deficit to 9-10, the Chinese kept moving ahead to close out the opening game.
After the change of sides, the Indian duo had a four-point advantage at the mid-game interval in the second game, with Hariharan looking to leap high and rain down relentless steep smashes and drops while Arjun patrolled the net with his taps and pushes. The Chinese tried to break the Indians' rhythm, who soon forced a decider.
However, the Indians faded in the third game as the Chinese took a decisive six-point cushion at the break and sealed their place in yet another final without much ado.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
