India's Badminton Hopes Fade at Asian Games 2026 as Sindhu and Hooda Exit
Badminton: A Disappointing End for India
India's aspirations for individual badminton medals at the Asian Games 2026 came to a halt on Sunday, with both PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda exiting in the women's singles quarterfinals. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, started strong against China's Chen Yu Fei but ultimately lost the match with scores of 21-11, 18-21, 10-21. Despite winning the first game, she couldn't maintain her lead as Chen rallied back to take control in the final game, marking the end of India's badminton journey at the Games. The men's team bronze remains the sole medal for India in this sport.
Earlier, 18-year-old Unnati Hooda also faced a tough battle, narrowly missing out on a medal against Japan's former world No. 1, Akane Yamaguchi. The match concluded with scores of 16-21, 21-14, 17-21. Unnati managed to recover after losing the first game and pushed the match to a decider, but despite Yamaguchi appearing to struggle with a leg issue, Unnati couldn't seize the opportunity. She stayed close in the final moments, but errors and missed chances allowed Yamaguchi to secure her victory.
Boxing: India Secures a Medal
In other sports, boxer Ankush triumphed over Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov in the men's 80kg quarterfinal, ensuring a medal for India.
Archery: Teams Progress to Semifinals
India's archery teams continued to excel, with both the men's and women's recurve teams defeating their opponents from the Philippines and Mongolia, respectively, to advance to the semifinals. Additionally, India progressed in the recurve mixed team and both the men's and women's compound team events.
Athletics: Multiple Finalists Emerge
In athletics, Sreeshankar Murali and David Solomon qualified for the men's long jump final. Vithya Ramraj and Anu Raghavan also made it to the women's 400m hurdles final after finishing second in their heats. Earlier, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan qualified for the men's 400m hurdles final, while Tejaswin Shankar stood third in the overall decathlon standings following the discus throw.
Shooting: Trap Qualification Update
In shooting, Neeru led the women's trap qualification after Day 1, with Aashima Ahlawat in 16th place and Manisha Keer in 24th. In the men's trap qualification, Kynan Chenai ranked 11th, followed by Shapath Bharadwaj in 22nd and Ahvar Rizvi in 35th.
Updates from Other Sports
The Indian women's fencing team faced defeat against Uzbekistan in the team sabre quarterfinals. In individual dressage, Hriday Chheda and Jai Sud finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
In surfing, Sivaraj Babu advanced to Round 3 of the men's shortboard, while Kamali Prakash did not progress in the women's event.
India also experienced losses in kurash and women's doubles sepaktakraw on Day 8.