India’s hopes of securing an individual badminton medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya have officially ended on Sunday. It comes after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda both suffered quarter-final defeats in the women’s singles.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu started strongly against China’s Chen Yufei, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion. She took the opening game 21-11 but could not sustain the momentum, eventually falling 21-11, 18-21, 10-21. The loss ended her bid for a second Asian Games singles medal after her silver in Jakarta in 2018.
Earlier, 19-year-old Unnati Hooda pushed three-time world champion and home favourite Akane Yamaguchi of Japan to three games. Hooda recovered from a first-game defeat to win the second 21-14, but the Japanese star prevailed 16-21, 21-14, 17-21 in a hard-fought contest.
Asian Games 2026: India's hope of winning badminton individual medal ends; PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda out
The results mean Indian shuttlers failed to win a medal in any individual event for the first time since the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, creating an unwanted record. India’s sole badminton medal at these Games remains the bronze secured by the men’s team.
Last time in Hangzhou, India claimed three medals. The men’s team managed to win a silver, while doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty claimed silver. HS Prannoy also added a bronze in the men’s singles. Meanwhile, the women’s pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a 18-21, 9-21 loss to Malaysian world No. 5 pairing Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the last eight.
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