Former World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn arrived in Delhi for the 2026 Worlds, and declared without batting an eyelid that it was a mere tune-up for the Asian Games, after a month. It wasn’t just that he had ticked the World’s box and he couldn’t possibly peak twice at the most important events of 2026. But that the Asiad for badminton is one of those prestige events that can put a balm on even a missed Olympic medal.

Kunlavut has silver at Paris. But the Nagoya Asiad gold is easily the biggest goals through the East Asian crescent from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia to Malaysia – enough to relegate a World Championship to a run-up test event.

ASIAN GAMES FULL COVERAGE

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World No 1 Jonatan Christie doesn’t have an Olympic medal, despite his Top 5 consistency for the last 7-8 years. But whenever he retires, he will have fulfilled one crucial precondition to consider him an Indonesian great – winning the 2018 Asian Games title. Taufik Hidayat announced his arrival at the 2002 edition, and won in 2006 for good measure. But you only have to look at how carefully the Indonesian badminton team was checked into Nagoya without facing hassles with advanced parties sent to check on their accommodation, to understand how much store the country sets on the Asian medals.

It won’t be surprising if their latest crown prince Alwi Farhan makes a deep run, though Japan will likely offer slow court conditions that the Indonesians seldom fancy. But Indonesia alongwith China take Asiad as seriously as they would an Olympic. Li Shifeng winning it at Hangzhou in 2022, has already thrown a gauntlet at the likes of Kunlavut, though hosts Japan will hope Kodai Naraoka, who was runners up at Delhi World’s continues his fine run.

The Chinese have had a terrible run coming into the Asiad in men’s singles. Though they always arrive pumped up, wanting to prove a point in Japan – right upto the Tokyo Olympics. A whiff of a rumour has turned into a tornado surrounding Shi Yuqi, with anonymous social media accounts buzzing about a possible retirement post Asian Games. He is 29, and in shoddy form including the first round loss to Ayush Shetty at World Championships. But don’t put it past the Chinese to make 2026 all about the Asian Games – with the periodisation planned for Nagoya culmination.

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Lin Dan (2010 & 2014) and Li Shifeng have 3 of the last 4 Asiad titles for China, and despite the administrative mess back home with CBA high ranking officials investigated for corruption that doesn’t spare former Olympic champs, and China winning just one of five World’s golds at Delhi, the Asiad with Chen Long prominent on coach’s chair, will be interesting to follow.

Only three country’s men’s singles shuttlers have won an Asian Games gold – China (8), Indonesia (7) and Malaysia (1, back in 1970). Effectively, it’s a China – Indonesia tussle into which the two Indians will throw in their hat.

Lakshaya Sen lost at the World’s to an unknown American. But if he can treat it as a blip (which is many in his career) and pull off his big-event Sen-Resurrection, the Indian can finally put the Olympics disappointment to rest. He only needs to be fit and carry stamina for two weeks, given the team event is as important, where he will need to lead on the top board, Sen can make it a fortnight to remember.

A good-phase for Sen usually comes with no formal RSVP intimations. He had pulled out the MS1 against Shi Yuqi at the team gold match at Hangzhou, one of his finest wins. So, Sen can be depended upon to raise his game. He rates Asian Games. And that in a nutshell tends to be a trigger for his sudden spike.

This will be the first ‘Games’ for Ayush Shetty, who has gotten leaner and slightly faster. He has no title to show, but he went 5/5 at Thomas Cup, made Asian Championship final and lit fire for the Delhi Badminton World’s with than win over Shi Yuqi, a match and victory that has brought many latent fans back to Badminton in India. Nobody who watched him in Delhi can resist tuning into Badminton now.

Any matchup featuring him – vs Alwi Farhan or any of the Chinese immediately slots him in the giant giantkiller’s role.

The likes of Yushi Tanaka – the shortest shuttler in MS on the circuit and World Championships medallist Chou Tien Chen have it in them to sneak through, and Loh Kean Yew is always a bobbing beanstalk, though he implodes more than often. The Chinese tend to be possessive about the Asiad MS gold, but Kunlavut and Lakshya Sen can get in a word edgeways always – especially if they have been lying in wait preparing for this one.