Asian Games 2026: Tough draw for Lakshya, Sindhu; Satwik-Chirag have it easy

Indian shuttlers face tough draws as the schedule for the individual competitions at the Asian Games were announced on Thursday.

In men's singles, while top Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen received an opening round bye, he will face former world champion Loh Kean Yew, who also received a bye, in the second round. If Sen gets past Yew, the world No. 14 will easily reach the quarter-finals where he will likely face world No. 1 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.

Ayush Shetty also received a first-round bye but will face his first real test in Round 3 against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

PV Sindhu also received a first-round bye in women's singles and is likely to easily progress to the quarter-finals where she could face Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei.

Young Unnati Hooda will open her campaign against North Korean Yu Mi Song and will likely run into world No.6 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in Round 3.

The discipline to watch out for — men's doubles — will see Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty open against the Thai combine of Peeratchai Sukpun/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul. The defending champions have an easy route to the semis where they will likely face top seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea.

Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun have a very tough opener against second seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.

In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will open against Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang of Hong Kong. If they win they run into Japanese world No.3 Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in Round 2. The Indian combine beat Yuki and Mayu in the team quarter-finals earlier this week.

Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi will start against Indonesians Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilyysa Trias Puspitasari. If they win, they will run into South Korean second seeds Hana Baek and Sohee Lee.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will face Nibal Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq Aminath Nabeeha of Maldives in Round 1.

The individual competitions begin on Friday.

Indian badminton has already secured a medal with the men’s team claiming bronze.

At Hangzhou 2023, Indian shuttlers won three medals, including a first-ever badminton gold. While Rankireddy and Shetty claimed the top prize in men’s doubles, the men’s team won silver, and HS Prannoy won bronze in men’s singles.