Asian Games 2026: Lakshya Sen's stellar win helps India seal medal

Lakshya Sens stirring comeback was the perfect subplot as the Indian mens badminton team produced a superlative performance to outwit Japan in the quarterfinals and assure itself of a medal but it was curtains for the womens team following a 13 loss to the hosts at the Asian Games here on TuesdayIt was a flawless performance from the Indian men silver medallists at the last edition as they rode on victories from Lakshya Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Ayush Shetty Coming into the event after a series of early exits and low on confidence Lakshya was staring at defeat after losing the opening game and trailing 1419 in the deciderHowever the 25yearold from Almora proved his mettle reeling off seven straight points to beat world No7 and twotime world championships silvermedallist Kodai Naraoka 1121 215 2119 to give India a 10 lead Playing the first doubles Satwik and Chirag who have won two titles this season registered a 2118 2422 win over former world champions Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo to extend Indias lead to 20Ayush a finalist at the Badminton Asia Championships this year then produced an impressive performance to see off world no 16 Koki Watanabe 2110 2119 to seal the match and a medal for India India will face the winner of the other quarterfinal between defending champions China and Korea in the last four stage on WednesdayIts a great win today for our mens team over Japan at the Asian Games in Japan This brings back some very special memories of the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul former India coach Vimal Kumar said Kumar was part of the Indian mens badminton team at the 1986 Games alongside Prakash Padukone Syed Modi Uday Pawar Ravi Kunte Leroy DSa and Sanat MisraOne of the most memorable moments of our campaign was our victory over Japan Prakash and I won our respective singles matches and Prakash partnering Uday Pawar won the mens doubles It was a proud moment for all of us and a memorable victory for Indian badminton he said Great to see similar memories being created again It takes me right back to Seoul 1986 he addedThe win lifted some of the gloom after the womens teams loss earlier in the day While the World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced a clinical performance the singles players faltered as the womens team bowed out of the quadrennial event with a 13 loss to Japan in the quarterfinalsLakshya vs NaraokaThe buildup to the Games could not have been worse for world no 14 Lakshya as he made an early exit from the home World Championships after losing to USAs Garrett Tan who was ranked world No 92 at the time His mentor Vimal Kumar later revealed that he had been dealing with a back injuryPlaying a highpressure match against an opponent who had defeated him in four of the last five meetings Lakshya struggled initially with the drift in the hall also playing a role Lakshya soon surrendered the opening game However after a pep talk from chief coach Pullela Gopichand and a change of sides the Indian made an emphatic comeback dominating the second game with a series of smashes aimed at his opponents backhand to race to an 112 leadThe Almora shuttler continued the momentum moving to 163 as he mixed his shots well and Naraoka struggled to keep the shuttle inside Lakshya sealed the game when the Japanese players lift again went long In the decider Lakshya initially managed to keep himself within touching distance but Naraoka took an 116 lead at the break before the final change of endsThe Japanese moved to 1610 despite a fighting Lakshya who kept engaging his rival in rallies and waiting for his chance However two unforced errors from Lakshya saw the Japanese move to 1914 The Indian then made a strong comeback reeling off four points as Naraoka crumbled under pressure and committed too many errors Lakshya unleashed two precise returns to the backline to earn a match point and sealed the contest when Naraoka sprayed his next shot into the netSindhu vs YamaguchiPV Sindhu was looking good after she recovered from a 1317 deficit to clinch the opening game 2321 against Yamaguchi The battle between the two former world champions saw them battle it out in some exciting rallies averaging 3536 shots Sindhu earned a game point but a wrong judgement at the backline allowed Yamaguchi to make a comebackThe Indian grabbed another game point after her opponent found the net and sealed it with a crosscourt forehand winner to grab the early initiative After the change of sides Yamaguchi held a twopoint lead at the midgame interval Sindhu threatened to make another comeback from 1217 down but the Japanese held her nerve to take the second game 2118 It all went downhill for Sindhu in the decider as she fell 614 behind Eventually Yamaguchi earned 10 match points and sealed the contest with a precise returnThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability 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