Asian Games badminton: Sindhu, Unnati exit as India end campaign with one medal

India ended their Asian Games badminton campaign with one bronze medal after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda lost their women's singles quarterfinals. India failed to win a medal in any individual event, with the men's team bronze remaining their sole medal

Ichinomiya: India’s badminton campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games ended with one bronze medal after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda suffered quarterfinal defeats in the women’s singles on Sunday.

Sindhu lost to China’s Chen Yufei 1-2 despite winning the opening game, while Hooda went down 1-2 to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi after taking the second game.

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India finished without a medal in the five individual badminton events at the Games. The men’s team bronze remained the country’s sole medal in badminton.

It was the first time since the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon that Indian shuttlers failed to win a medal in an individual event at the continental Games.

Earlier on Sunday, reigning world women’s doubles medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to the Malaysian pair of Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the quarterfinals.

In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also bowed out in the quarterfinals after losing to China’s world No. 1 pair of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.

India also failed to win medals in the women’s singles, men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, women’s team and mixed doubles events, with the men’s team bronze remaining the sole medal for the badminton contingent.

India had reached the men’s team semifinals to secure the bronze, while the women’s team exited in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan.

In a major upset, defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the round of 32 by Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun after receiving a bye in the round of 64.

Indian men’s singles players Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty also exited before the quarterfinals. Lakshya, who received a bye in the round of 64, lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the round of 32. Shetty defeated Makhsut Tajibullayev in the round of 32 before losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in the pre-quarterfinals.

The other men’s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun lost to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in the round of 32. In women’s doubles, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi were beaten by Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari in the same round.

India had won three badminton medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games but finished with one bronze at Aichi-Nagoya.