Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 22 (ANI): India's Aadhya Tiwari bowed out of the women's singles soft tennis competition at the Asian Games 2026 despite defeating Pakistan's Kainaat Shallwani 4-0 in her final Group D match here on Tuesday.
Tiwari won 4-2, 5-3, 4-1, 5-3 against Shallwani, but the victory was not enough to keep her in contention for the quarterfinals, as only group winners advance to the next round.
Thailand's Alisha Ziegler had already secured the group after defeating both Tiwari and Shallwani. The Indian finished second in Group D, bringing her Asian Games campaign to an end.
Tiwari was the only Indian woman soft tennis player in the country's squad for the continental showpiece.
Earlier, Tiwari and Jay Meena had exited the mixed doubles competition in the round of 16 on Monday. The Indian pair lost 2-5 to the Philippines' Christy Sanosa and Sherwin Nuguit in a seven-set contest.
The duo had begun their campaign with 5-0 victories over Cambodia's Viva Chao and Chanroseka Khun, and Mongolia's Bud Nyamdorj and Enkhkhuslen Ganbaatar. They then lost 1-5 to South Korea in their final group match, finishing second to qualify for the knockout stage.
In other soft tennis results on Day 3, Aryan Thakur defeated Mongolia's Bold-erdene Altangerel 4-0 in the men's singles Group C, while Jay Meena beat Pakistan's Hussain Arain by the same margin in Group D.
India's campaign across other sports on Tuesday saw mixed results. In boxing, Sakshi Chaudhary advanced to the women's 51kg round of 16 with a unanimous 5-0 decision over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines.
In fencing, Taniksha Khatri defeated Thailand's Natpapat Sangngio in the women's individual epee round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals, while Mitva Chaudhari lost to Yang Jingwen.
India's women's table tennis team defeated Thailand 3-2 in the round of 16, while the men's team lost 0-3 to the Republic of Korea in the opening round. The women's badminton team also went down 1-3 to Japan in the quarterfinals.
In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final after qualifying second. In men's skeet qualification, Anantjeet Singh Naruka was second, while Mairaj Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill were 23rd and 35th, respectively. In the women's event, Raiza Dhillon stood fifth, Parinaaz Dhaliwal ninth and Maheshwari Chauhan 16th.
India's men's kabaddi team defeated South Korea 63-31 in Group A, while the men's team Regu sepaktakraw side lost 0-3 to Malaysia.
In swimming, the men's 4x100m medley relay team qualified for the final after finishing seventh overall in the heats. Aryan Nehra placed fourth in the men's 1500m freestyle final B.
In wushu, Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finished ninth in the women's Nanquan final. Karateka Alisha Choudhary lost 1-6 to Indonesia's Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women's kumite - 55kg round of 16, while Chetan Bhatt lost his men's 84kg kumite bronze medal match. (ANI)
Asian Games: Soft Tennis player Aadhya Tiwari bows out despite 4-0 win over Pakistan’s Kainaat Shallwani
