India Badminton At Asian Games 2026 Preview: Full Schedule, Timings, Medal Events And Players In Action

India will start their singles campaign in badminton at the Asian Games on Friday, September 25. Indian star shuttlers have been handed a tough draw that was announced on Thursday.

Lakshya Sen gets a lucky bye in the first round, only to face former world champion Loh Kean Yew, who also received a bye, in the second round. If Sen manages to get past Loh, he will then face the current world number-1 Jonathan Christie.

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.

Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have a comparatively kinder path to the semifinals.

India have already picked up medals in back-to-back badminton team events at the Asian Games, after the men's side added a bronze here to the silver it won in Hangzhou. They went down 1-3 to China in Wednesday's semifinal, with the singles losses by Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty proving costly.

The women's side also exited in the quarterfinals, with Sindhu and Unnati Hooda losing to Japanese opponents and returning empty-handed. The leading singles players must now shake off that setback and refocus on an individual medal at the 20th edition of the Games.

Lakshya And Sindhu

Lakshya will need to bounce back quickly. The world No. 14 arrived after a run of first-round exits, but showed plenty of resolve to beat double world championships silver medallist Kodai Naroka in India's quarterfinal tie against Japan.

Ayush, who stunned Shi Yu Qi at the New Delhi World Championships, also skips the opening round but may run into Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen in round three if he advances.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, like Lakshya, begins in round two after a bye. She could meet Japan's seventh seed Tomoka Miyazaki in the round of 16 and then Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China in the quarterfinals if she keeps winning.

Young Unnati Hooda opens against North Korea's Yu Mi Song and could face world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the third round.

Doubles And Mixed

The men's doubles draw is kinder on paper for India, with defending champions Satwik and Chirag, the fourth seeds, opening against Thailand's Peeratchai Sukpun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul.

A second-round clash with Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin could await. If they keep moving, South Korea's top seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae may be waiting in the semifinals.

India's women's doubles hopes will also be watched closely. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who won their maiden world championships bronze in New Delhi last month and were the only winners in the team clash against Japan, begin against Hong Kong's Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang.

Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi have drawn Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilyysa Trias Puspitasari in round one. They could next meet South Korea's second seeds Hana Baek and Sohee Lee.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto start against Maldives' Nibal Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq Aminath Nabeeha.

India have already secured a badminton medal at these Games after the men's team collected bronze in the 1-3 semifinal defeat to China. The Indian squad had a historic run at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where it won three medals.

India's badminton squad for Asian Games 2026

Men Singles

Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty

Women's Singles

P.V. Sindhu & Unnati Hooda

Men's Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty

M.R. Arjun & Hariharan Amsakarunan

Mixed Doubles

Dhruv Kapila & Tanisha Crasto

Women's Doubles

Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand

Kavipriya Selvam & Simran Singhi

Badminton Singles Schedule

September 25

6 a.m. onwards

Men’s Singles Round of 64 (Ayush Shetty)

Women’s Singles Round of 64 (P. V. Sindhu, Unnati Hooda)

Mixed Doubles Round of 32 (Dhruv Kapila & Tanisha Crasto)

12:30 p.m. onwards

Men’s Doubles Round of 32 (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty, M.R. Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan)

Women’s Doubles Round of 32 (Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand, Kavipriya Selvam & Simran Singhi)

Mixed Doubles Round of 16

September 26

6 a.m. onwards

Men’s & Women’s Singles Round of 32

12:30 p.m. onwards

Men’s & Women’s Singles Round of 16

Men’s Doubles Round of 16

Women’s Doubles Round of 16

September 27

6 a.m. onwards

Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals

Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals

9:30 a.m. onwards

Men’s & Women’s Singles Quarterfinals

Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals

September 28

6 a.m. onwards

Women’s Doubles Semifinals

Mixed Doubles Semifinals

9:30 a.m. onwards

Men’s & Women’s Singles Semifinals

Men’s Doubles Semifinals

September 29

7:30 a.m. onwards

Men’s & Women’s Singles Final

Men’s Doubles Final

Women’s Doubles Final

Mixed Doubles Final