Asian Games 2026: Sindhu, Unnati exit in quarter-finals

India’s badminton campaign at the Asian Games 2026 ended on Sunday after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda suffered defeats in the women’s singles quarter-finals at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Sindhu, ranked 11th in the world, went down 11-21, 21-18, 21-10 to world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 champion Chen Yufei of China.The Indian made an impressive start, racing to a 7-2 lead before taking an 11-8 advantage into the interval. She continued to control the opening game and wrapped it up comfortably.Chen responded strongly in the second game, taking an early 8-4 lead. Sindhu fought back to move ahead 11-10 at the interval, but the Chinese shuttler regained control to level the match and force a decider.Chen then dominated the deciding game to complete the comeback and end Sindhu’s hopes of a second Asian Games women’s singles medal following her silver at Jakarta 2018.

PV Sindhu’s Asian Games campaign ends in the Quarterfinals ????????

The Indian shuttler went down 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 to Tokyo Olympic champion and World No. 4 Chen Yufei ????????.

With this, India finish without a medal in the individual badminton events. pic.twitter.com/kjJzaf01Xk

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 27, 2026

Earlier, 19-year-old Unnati Hooda also came close to securing a maiden Asian Games medal before losing 21-16, 14-21, 21-17 to home favourite Akane Yamaguchi.The 24th-ranked Indian responded after losing the opening game, producing a strong second-game performance to force a decider. Yamaguchi, ranked third in the world and a three-time world champion, held an 11-8 lead at the interval in the final game.Unnati stayed within touching distance but Yamaguchi held her nerve to close out the match.
India’s women’s doubles medal hopes had earlier ended when Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost 21-18, 21-9 to Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the quarter-finals.In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out after losing 21-14, 18-21, 21-18 to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping.India finished without a medal across the five individual badminton events at Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The men’s team bronze remains India’s only badminton medal at the ongoing Asian Games.