The bronze medal win helped India win back-to-back Asian Games team badminton medals for the first time in 40 years
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File photo of Satwik and Chirag(Credits: IANS)
The Indian men’s badminton team once again faltered against China as the boys in blue went down in the semi-final to claim a bronze, three years after losing to the same opponents in the final of the Hangzhou Asian Games where the Indians had returned with a silver medal.
This time around, the team of Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun could only secure a bronze medal despite a fighting run in the on-going continental showpiece.
Read more:
Asian Games 2026: How things went for India on day four? Here’s the medal tally and full roundup
The fourth day was expected to see the Indian contingent add more gold medals but the women’s cricket team’s triumph yesterday remains the only occasion where India secured top spot in the podium.
Sat-Chi the only pair to win a game in men’s badminton semi-final
Satwik and Chirag were the only Indians who were able to manage a victory against China in the semis with all the other representatives struggling to keep up against higher ranked opponentsThough it was a disappointing result for the team, this was notably the first time in 40 years that the Indian men’s team secured back-to-back Asian Games team medals.
Also Read: Asian Games 2026: How things went for India on day four? Here’s the medal tally and full roundup
The first time it happened was in the 1982 and 1986 editions, where India won consecutive bronze medals.
World number 14 and 2024 Olympic semi-finalist Lakshya Sen started the proceedings strongly with an 8-4 lead in the opener but Shi Yu Qi fought back twice to make the score 8-8 and 13-13 before taking the match with four straight points.
In the second game, the score remained tied at 4-4 and 7-7 but Shi went on to take an 11-9 lead before Lakshya made it 14-15Despite taking control of things breifly, the Almora-born lost by 21-18.
Then came Satwik and Chirag who constructed rallies superbly before taking away the first game quite comfortablyAfter the change of ends, the Chinese pair fought back but Sat-Chi took an 11-9 lead before surging to 19-14 and seeing their opponents make it 18-19 with a brief comeback.
The Indian duo then wasted two match points before earning a third and secure a hard fought win.
Then Ayush Shetty was up against Li Shi Feng, an opponent he defeated at the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this yearAyush was expected to put up a strong performance and he did so by gaining an 11-10 lead early on before trailing 14-16 and eventually winning the game, thanks to a series of cross-court smashes.
In the next game, Li raced to a 5-0 lead and Ayush was forced to do catching up in most of the gameThe 21-year-old did well to closer the gap to 13-16 but Li’s resilince saw him earn seven match points before needing only one to seal the win.
In the final match, the pair of Hariharan and Arjun started to attack right from the start but they weren’t as effective when it came to break the stubborn Chinese defense.
Ji Ting and Liu earned a 9-4 lead and despite the Indians closing the deficit to 9-10, the Chinese pair claimed the opening gamethe Indian duo had a four-point advantage at the mid-game interval in the second game, with Hariharan looking to leap high and rain down relentless steep smashes and drops while Arjun patrolled the net with his taps and pushes.
The Chinese tried to break the Indians’ rhythm, who soon forced a deciderHowever, the Indians faded in the third game as the Chinese took a decisive six-point cushion at the break and sealed their place in yet another final without much ado.
