India’s top men’s singles player, Lakhsya Sen, suffered an early exit from the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, the People’s Republic of China, on Wednesday.
Lakhsya Sen, the All England Open runners-up and 12th in the men’s singles badminton rankings, lost 21-12, 21-19 against world No. 22 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China.
After offering little resistance in the opening game, Lakshya Sen mounted a fightback in the second, drawing level at 16-16 and again at 19-all before ultimately falling short in the closing stages and crashing out in the first round.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth also exited early after failing to make the most of a promising start that saw him win the first game before eventually losing 18-21, 21-9, 21-19 against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
India’s Ayush Shetty, though, stormed into the second round after stunning world No. 7 and fifth seed Li Shi Feng of China 21-13, 21-16.
Li Shi Feng, the reigning Asian Games champion, made a sharp start but the Indian badminton player responded with purpose and drew level at 7-all.
Ayush Shetty, the US Open 2025 champion, then went on to take control of the contest, overpowering the home favourite to claim the opening game.
The second game unfolded along similar lines with Olympian Li Shi Feng dictating the early exchanges.
However, Ayush Shetty managed to draw level at 13-13 before shifting gears with a run of six straight points to wrap up the match in 51 minutes. He will face Chi Yu-jen of Chinese Taipei in the second round.
World championships medallist HS Prannoy also joined Ayush Shetty in the men’s singles second round after beating Nguyễn Hải Đăng of Vietnam 24-22, 21-12.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu rallied to enter the second round after winning her women’s singles opener 15-21, 21-11, 21-19 against Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia.
Like PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda came from a game down to upset world No. 11 Supanida Katethong of Thailand 23-25, 21-8, 21-18.
Priya Konjengbam-Shruti Mishra beat Vietnam’s Thi Dieu Ly Pham and Thi Khanh Pham 21-15, 17-21, 21-13 to progress in women’s doubles, but Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi and Ashwini Bhat K-Shikha Gautam bowed out.
Hariharan Amsakarunan-MR Arjun lost to former world champions Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of the Republic of Korea 21-15, 21-7 as India’s challenge in men’s doubles wrapped up.
Malvika Bansod and Tanvi Sharma both lost their respective first-round matches in straight games.
Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Day 2 Indian results
- Ayush Shetty (IND) beat Li Shifeng (CHN) 21-13, 21-16
- PV Sindhu (IND) beat Wong Ling Ching (MAS) 15-21, 21-11, 21-19
- Lakshya Sen (IND) lost to Lee Cheuk Yiu (HKG) 21-12, 21-19
- Malvika Bansod (IND) lost to Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA) 21-10, 21-19
- Kidambi Srikanth (IND) lost to Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 18-21, 21-9, 21-19
- Tanvi Sharma (IND) lost to Letshanaa Karupathevan (MAS) 21-19, 21-14
- HS Prannoy (IND) beat Nguyễn Hải Đăng (VIE) 24-22, 21-12
- Unnati Hooda (IND) beat Supanida Katethong (THA) 23-25, 21-8, 21-18
- Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi (IND) lost to Li Yijing/Luo Xumin (CHN) 21-9, 21-8
- Priya Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra (IND) beat Thi Dieu Ly Pham/Pham Thi Khanh (VIE) 21-15, 17-21, 21-13
- Hariharan Amsakarunan/M R Arjun (IND) lost to Kim Won-ho/Seo Seung-jae (KOR) 21-15, 21-7
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/badminton-asia-championships-2026-india-day-2-results-report
