The Indian men’s badminton team settled for a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026 after losing 3-1 to the People’s Republic of China in the semi-finals in Aichi, Japan on Wednesday.
India, silver medallists at Hangzhou 2023, finished on the podium for the second successive Asian Games, despite falling short of another final appearance.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered India’s only victory of the tie, defeating reigning world champions Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20 in the men’s doubles rubber.
Earlier, Lakshya Sen, 14th in the badminton rankings, lost 21-16, 21-18 to 2025 world champion Shi Yuqi in the opening encounter at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Lakshya made a promising start but Shi Yuqi recovered to take the opening game. The Indian also fought back to level the second at 16-16 before the Chinese shuttler closed out the contest.
Satwik and Chirag, fifth in the men’s doubles rankings, then produced an impressive performance against the world No. 3 Chinese pair, who had beaten them at last month’s BWF World Championships in New Delhi before going on to win the title.
The Indian pair, the reigning Asian Games men’s doubles champions,dominated the opening game before surviving a late fightback in the second.
The Chinese pair saved two match points to level the scores at 20-20. However, the Indians held their nerve and converted their third opportunity to bring India level at 1-1.
Ayush Shetty, silver medallist at the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships, then lost 21-19, 21-13 to world No. 12 Li Shi Feng as China regained the lead.
The 21-year-old Indian badminton player, who had beaten Li Shi Feng at the continental championships earlier this year, held an 11-10 advantage at the interval in a closely contested opening game.
Ayush also reduced the deficit to three points at 16-13 in the second but could not prevent the Chinese shuttler from sealing the victory.
With India trailing 2-1, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun faced He Ji Ting and Liu Yi in a must-win fourth rubber.
The Indian combination, however, lost 21-16, 17-21, 21-9, ending India’s hopes of reaching a second successive men’s team final.
India had assured themselves of a medal after beating hosts Japan 3-0 in Tuesday’s quarter-finals, with Lakshya, Satwik-Chirag and Ayush winning their respective matches.
At Hangzhou 2023, the Indian men won silver after losing 3-2 to China in the gold medal match.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s badminton team bowed out in the quarter-finals following a 3-1 defeat to hosts Japan on Tuesday.
The individual badminton competitions at the Asian Games 2026 begin on Friday, with the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events running from September 25 to 29.
