New Delhi: India endured a mixed day at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 on Wednesday, with Ayush Shetty producing the standout result by beating Li Shi Feng, while PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy also advanced.
However, India’s top men’s singles player Lakshya Sen made an early exit from the tournament in Ningbo, China. The world No. 12 and All England Open runner-up fell 21-12, 21-19 to Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China, ranked 22nd in the world, olympics.com reported.
Sen offered little resistance in the opening game. He fought back in the second, drawing level at 16-16 and again at 19-all. But he could not hold his nerve in the closing stages and crashed out in the first round.
Former world No. 1 Srikanth also exited in the opening round. He won the first game against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore but lost the next two 9-21 and 19-21, going down 21-18, 21-9, 21-19 overall.
Feng, the current Asian Games champion, made a sharp start. Shetty responded with purpose and levelled at 7-7 before seizing control to take the opening game. In the second, Li again dictated the early exchanges, but Shetty drew level at 13-13 and then reeled off six straight points to seal the match.
World championships medallist HS Prannoy also moved through, beating Vietnam’s Nguyễn Hải Đăng 24-22, 21-12 to set up a second-round contest.
In the women’s draw, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu came from a game down to beat Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia 15-21, 21-11, 21-19 and advance to the second round. Malvika Bansod and Tanvi Sharma both lost their first-round matches in straight games.
