New Delhi: Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda bowed out of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 on Thursday, while Ayush Shetty advanced to the men’s singles quarter-finals, keeping India’s hopes alive.
Sindhu, ranked 13th, lost 21-18, 21-8 to China’s Wang Zhi Yi, the world No. 2 and two-time former Asian champion, in a 46-minute match. Sindhu trailed 14-9 early in the first game but narrowed the gap to 18-19 before Wang secured the win. The second game was dominated by the Chinese shuttler, giving her a 4-3 edge in their head-to-head record. Sindhu had survived a three-game opener against Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching.
Hooda, who had upset world No. 11 Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the first round, lost 21-17, 21-9 to Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki, ending her run in the women’s singles, olympics.com reported.
Shetty, the 2025 US Open champion, defeated Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 21-12 in 41 minutes after earlier beating world No. 7 and reigning Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng. Shetty will now face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, the 2024 gold medallist, in the quarter-finals. With HS Prannoy losing to China’s Weng Hong Yang, Shetty remains India’s only singles contender in the tournament.
India’s doubles campaigns also concluded in Ningbo. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were defeated 21-13, 21-14 by Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. In women’s doubles, Priya Konjengbam-Shruti Mishra lost 21-10, 21-13 to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Lakhsya Sen exited in the first round, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand had withdrawn before the tournament.
