New Delhi [India], September 24 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu hailed the Indian men's badminton team for their bronze medal at the ongoing Asian Games, saying that it "reflects the team’s determination, resilience and fighting spirit."
The Indian men’s badminton team secured a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026 after suffering a 3-1 defeat against the People’s Republic of China in the semi-finals in Aichi, Japan, on Wednesday.
Posting on X, Murmu wrote, "Warm congratulations to the Indian Men’s Badminton Team on winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026. This commendable achievement reflects the team’s determination, resilience and fighting spirit. Each member made a valuable contribution to this proud success. My best wishes to the entire team for future endeavours."
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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered India’s only win of the tie, defeating reigning world champions Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20 in the men’s doubles match.
Lakshya Sen lost the opening match 21-16, 21-18 against Shi Yuqi. Lakshya started strongly, but Shi fought back to take the first game. The Indian shuttler also challenged in the second game, drawing level at 16-16 before the Chinese player closed out the match, according to Olympics.com.
Satwik and Chirag, the reigning Asian Games men’s doubles champions, then produced a strong performance against the world No. 3 Chinese pair. The Indian duo dominated the opening game and held their composure in the second after the Chinese pair saved two match points to make it 20-20. Satwik-Chirag converted their third match point to level the tie at 1-1.
Ayush Shetty then went down 21-19, 21-13 against world No. 12 Li Shi Feng, giving China a 2-1 lead.
With India needing a win in the fourth match, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun faced He Ji Ting and Liu Yi. However, the Indian pair lost 21-16, 17-21, 21-9, ending India’s hopes of reaching a second successive men’s team final.
India had assured a medal after defeating hosts Japan 3-0 in the quarter-finals, with Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag and Ayush Shetty winning their respective matches.
India, which won a silver medal at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, finished on the podium for the second consecutive edition but missed out on a place in the final. (ANI)
President Murmu hails Indian men's badminton team for Asian Games bronze
