Asian Games 2026: India Settles For Bronze In Men's Badminton After 3-1 Loss To China

India’s men’s badminton team ended its Asian Games campaign with a bronze medal after losing 1-3 to China in the semifinals on Wednesday. Despite falling short against their familiar rivals, the result marked another strong showing for Indian badminton on the continental stage.

India had also claimed silver at the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023, where China had beaten them in the final.

Lakshya Falls Short

Lakshya Sen faced world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi in the opening singles but could not reproduce the form that had carried India into the semifinals. The Indian, ranked 14th in the world, went down 16-21, 18-21 as China took an early lead. The defeat put India under immediate pressure in the best-of-five semifinal.

Satwik-Chirag Restore Parity

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty responded with a commanding display against world champions Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The Indian pair won 21-11, 22-20 to bring the tie level at 1-1. Their victory over the Paris Olympic silver medallists gave India renewed momentum at a crucial stage.

China Regain Control

Youngster Ayush Shetty was next on court against world No. 12 Li Shi Feng, with India looking to move ahead in the tie. However, the 20th-ranked Indian struggled to maintain consistency and lost 19-21, 13-21. China consequently moved within one victory of sealing its place in the final.

Bronze Still a Significant Result

Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun were tasked with keeping India’s hopes alive against He Ji Ting and Liu Yi. The Indian pair fought hard and won the second game, but China eventually prevailed 21-16, 17-21, 21-9 to close out the semifinal 3-1. India nevertheless secured back-to-back Asian Games team medals for the first time in four decades, matching the bronze-medal finishes achieved in 1982 and 1986.