Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 22 (ANI): Team India crashed out in the women's badminton quarterfinals, losing to Japan 1-3 in the ongoing Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday.
Team India had some flashes of brilliance, such as two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu's first-game win over rival Akane Yamaguchi and a brilliant fightback from the pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the fourth match, but it was a largely a dissappointing show from the women's team.
The rivals PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi started the quarterfinal against Japan in the women's team competition. Starting from game one, Sindhu levelled at 5-5 after his opponent took an early lead however, Yamaguchi had an 11-9 lead heading into the break. After Sindhu levelled the score at 12-12, the Indian managed to narrow the gap to 17-18 and then once again levelled the score at 18-18.
After some more thrilling action which saw scores being level, Sindhu finally managed a hard-fought 23-21 win in the first game.
The second game saw the players going back and forth again, and by the break, Yamaguchi had the lead once again, at 11-9. She managed to win a big lead for herself, with 17-12. However, Sindhu managed to claw her way back, reducing the deficit to 16-18.
Yamaguchi managed to secure the lead again and took the second game 21-18.
In the decider game, Sindhu was trailing 4-11 at the interval, with Yamaguchi dominating the proceedings. The two-time Olympic medalist never really got a chance to take control as she lost the decider 11-21. India was trailing 0-1.
In the second match of the tie, Unnati Hooda took on Tomoka Miyazaki. The first game was a back-and-forth affair. Trailing 6-4 at one point, Unnati took a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval. However, Unnati lost her lead and was in a deficit with a scoreline of 15-19. Unnati eventually lost the first game 16-21.
Unnati came back with a vengeance in the second game, racing to a 11-4 lead at the end of the interval. However, Tomoka fought back well, putting the Indian in a deficit of 13-15. Unnati fumbled her initial lead, losing the second game 18-21 and losing her match. Japan held a 2-0 lead.
In the all-important third match, the experienced women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand took on Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. The Indians had a back-and-forth duel, holding a 11-10 lead at the interval. The scores got level at 17-17 later, Treesa and Gayatri took the first game 21-17.
In the second game, the Indian pair held a lead of 11-8 at the interval. They helped India keep their hopes alive, stunning the world number three pairing 21-17, 21-16. India kept the tie alive with a scoreline of 2-1.
Tanvi Sharma started India's bid for redemption, but lost to Nozomi Okuhara 12-21 in the first game and trailed 4-11 in the second game at interval and lost the second game 10-21, giving the match to Japan. (ANI)
Asian Games 2026: India crashes out in badminton women's team quarterfinals
