Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 23 (ANI): The Indian males’s badminton crew secured a bronze medal on the Asian Games 2026 after struggling a 3-1 defeat in opposition to the People’s Republic of China within the semi-finals in Aichi, Japan, on Wednesday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered India’s solely win of the tie, defeating reigning world champions Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20 within the males’s doubles match.
Lakshya Sen misplaced the opening match 21-16, 21-18 in opposition to Shi Yuqi. Lakshya began strongly, however Shi fought again to take the primary recreation. The Indian shuttler additionally challenged within the second recreation, drawing stage at 16-16 earlier than the Chinese participant closed out the match, in keeping with Olympics.com.
Satwik and Chirag, the reigning Asian Games males’s doubles champions, then produced a powerful efficiency in opposition to the world No. 3 Chinese pair. The Indian duo dominated the opening recreation and held their composure within the second after the Chinese pair saved two match factors to make it 20-20. Satwik-Chirag transformed their third match level to stage the tie at 1-1.
Ayush Shetty then went down 21-19, 21-13 in opposition to world No. 12 Li Shi Feng, giving China a 2-1 lead.
With India needing a win within the fourth match, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun confronted He Ji Ting and Liu Yi. However, the Indian pair misplaced 21-16, 17-21, 21-9, ending India’s hopes of reaching a second successive males’s crew last.
India had assured a medal after defeating hosts Japan 3-0 within the quarter-finals, with Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag and Ayush Shetty successful their respective matches.
India, which received a silver medal on the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, completed on the rostrum for the second consecutive version however missed out on a spot within the last.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, India received the silver medal after dropping 3-2 to China within the gold medal conflict. (ANI)