Asian Games 2026: India beat Japan, assured of medal in men's team event

The Indian men’s team has previously won one silver medal, last time around in 2023, and three bronze medals in 1974, 1982 and 1986.

Published on: Sep 22, 2026, 15:00:21 IST

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It was as if Indian male shuttlers could do no wrong at the Asian Games on Tuesday. Even when they faltered during their matches, they fought back in dramatic fashion to ensure they would not return empty-handed from Aichi-Nagoya.

The team-building exercises the boys did ahead of the tournament—joint yoga sessions, practicing, having meals together—bore fruition as India beat hosts Japan 3-0 in the quarter-finals to enter the last four and ensure they will return with a medal from the continental showpiece.

The Indian men’s team have previously won one silver, last time around in 2023, and three bronze medals in 1974, 1982 and 1986.

Deep Dive

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It was Lakshya Sen who gave India a fantastic start in a contest that ended in dramatic fashion as the Indian won 11-21, 21-5, 21-19 over Kodai Naraoka in an hour and six minutes, marking a comeback victory after trailing 13-19 in the decider. The top-ranked Indian men’s shuttler demonstrated immense tactical resilience to overcome the significant deficit.

At the start, Naraoka controlled the pacing and decisively took the opening game to put Sen on the back foot early on. But the world No.14 completely shifted the momentum, heavily dictating the rallies and restricting Naraoka to just five points to force a decider.

In the third game, Naraoka built a massive early advantage, making good use of the drift to leave Sen trailing 6-14. He further took the advantage to 19-13 and was just two points away from victory.

However, capitalising on a crucial change of ends, Sen clawed his way back point-by-point, executing under pressure to win eight straight points and close out the game 21-19, giving India a crucial 1-0 lead. This was Sen’s third win in nine meetings over the two-time World Championships silver medallist.

It was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Reddy taking on 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the second clash.

From the moment the shuttle was in the air, the Indian combine delivered a masterclass in controlled aggression, tactical brilliance and relentless court coverage. Rankireddy and Shetty unleashed their trademark thunderous baseline power with lightning-fast net play that completely suffocated their opponents’ defence helping them win 21-18, 24-22 in 56 minutes.

The match unfolded with a sequence of high-tempo flat drives where Shetty’s rapid reflexes turned split-second defence into instant offense. Reading the flight early at the tape, Shetty intercepted tight net exchanges with precision, repeatedly forcing high, defensive lifts into the backcourt, right into Rankireddy’s strike zone.

Waiting deep on the baseline, Rankireddy unleashed a barrage of steep, towering jump smashes that shattered the opposition’s defensive wall through sheer pace and angle.

When the opponents attempted to slow the rhythm with soft drops and neutral rallies, the Indian pair shifted gears seamlessly. Shetty cut off every escape route at the net, pouncing on anything even slightly high while Rankireddy anchored the backcourt, resetting defensive plays into aggressive counter-attacks.

The momentum shifted decisively during a breathless, marathon rally late in the match, where seamless court rotation and razor-sharp communication allowed Rankireddy to paint the sideline with a blistering down-the-line smash.

In the pressure-cooker closing moments, their execution remained spotless. Superior third-shot routine management, aggressive service returns and tactical synergy slammed the door shut for Hoki and Kobayashi.

As the final return drifted wide on match point, the triumph was sealed, giving India a 2-0 lead and the team in the dugout another moment of joyful victory celebration.

Having never beaten Koki Watanabe, it was a test for young Ayush Shetty. But the explosive Indian shuttler completely maintained control over the local shuttler. From not even having taken a game off Watanabe in the previous two encounters, Shetty won the contest 21-10, 21-19 to put India in the semis — where they will face either defending champions China or South Korea — ensuring a medal for the second successive time.

Women lose, campaign ends

India’s campaign came to a disappointing end as the PV Sindhu-led squad lost the women’s team badminton quarter-final 1-3 to hosts Japan at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

The Indian women shuttlers were looking to earn their first medal at the Asian Games since their bronze in 2014 but it wasn’t to be as the hosts, backed by a vociferous crowd, comprehensively overcame India.

Hopes were high for Sindhu as she took on three-time world champion and old rival Akane Yamaguchi, who also reached the final of the World Championships last month here. Having beaten the world No. 3 twice in four meetings this year—including the Japan Open final where Sindhu beat Yamaguchi in her own backyard—Sindhu looked full of confidence and started well, pulling off the first game, a tight affair, 23-21.

But Yamaguchi found her rhythm in the second as she kept drawing Sindhu to the net before pushing the bird to the back. The local girl played the endurance game perfectly, extending the rallies which forced Sindhu to commit errors to win the second game 21-18 and push the match into a decider.

The two-time Olympic medallist ran out of steam in the third, losing the decider 11-21 as Japan went up 1-0.

Japan made it 2-0 when 20-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki breezed past Unnati Hooda 21-16, 21-18. Unlike what the scores suggest, Tomoka was in complete control of the match as she earned her fifth win in as many meetings against the Indian.

However, it was the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand who rekindled hope in the Indian dugout. Full of confidence after winning a bronze medal at the World Championships here last month, the Indian pairing overcame world No. 3 Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto.

While Yuki is a three-time World Championships silver medallist (with Sayaka Hirota), Mayu is a two-time world champion (with Wakana Nagahara). She has also won two bronze medals with Wakana.

Having paired up this year, they have already reached three finals despite winning bronze at the Asian Championships.

But despite their pedigree, the Japanese combine were no match for Treesa and Gayatri as the world No.26 pair won 21-17, 21-16 in 52 minutes to provide hope their team.

But that hope was short-lived as young Tanvi Sharma was no match for former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, who came out on top 21-12, 21-10 in 18 minutes to help Japan win 3-1.

Japan will meet the winner of the contest between South Korea and Malaysia in the semi-finals.

India’s medal-less run continues in the category. They have medalled only twice at the Asian Games, winning bronze at New Delhi 1982 and Incheon 2014.

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