Asian Games: Lakshya Sen delivers as Indian men’s team secure back-to-back medals

The indomitable Lakshya Sen locked down and delivered his best as India beat Japan 3-0 in the men’s badminton quarter-finals at the Asian Games. The win took India into the semi-finals and guaranteed them a medal, extending their streak of back-to-back podium finishes after winning silver in the men’s team event at the 2022 edition.

Lakshya Sen led the charge and won the crucial opening match against world number seven Kodai Naraoka. Despite being down 11-21 in the opening game, Lakshya made a sensational comeback to win the last two games 21-5, 21-19.

Lakshya’s grueling 1 hour 6 minute match against home favorite Naraok gave the Indian team a lot of confidence. The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, followed by second men’s singles player Ayush Shetty, rallied on the back of Lakshya’s performance to win their matches in straight games. Courtesy: PTI

INEXPERIENCED LAKSHYA BEAT NARAOKA

The atmosphere at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium was charged considering that just hours earlier the hosts had defeated India 3-1 in the women’s team competition. Playing against PV Sindhu’s team, higher seeded Japan defeated all Indian singles players to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

In the women’s team competition, Sindhu’s loss against Akane Yamaguchi in the opening match of the tie proved decisive on Tuesday.

Asian Games 2026 live: September 22 update

Going into the match against Narao, Lakshya knew that India could not afford to let the match go into a final draw. However, playing from the far end, Lakshya got off to a poor start and raced into an 11-6 lead.

Lakshya eventually lost the first match 11-21.

Drift on the far side of the court was the main problem for the players on Tuesday. The shuttles struggled not only with shuttle flight, but also with lateral displacement.

After losing the opening game, the Indian coaching staff had a strong word with Lakshya, explaining that there was no point in playing a short and flat rally.

From the second game, Lakshya completely changed his style and trusted his defense and long runs against Narao.

One of the key reasons for playing the waiting game was that earlier in the day, a proactive PV Sindhu gassed quickly as she tried to close out the match in the second game.

Lakshya was told to remain patient and trust Naraok to make mistakes on the wrong side of the court. The plan paid off as Lakshya won the second game 21-5. Courtesy: Reuters

With the first match tied 1–1 after two games, India returned to the contest. The third and deciding game of the first tie proved to be a fascinating match.

Lakshya was trailing 6-11 at the break but believed he could win points once he moved to the better side of the court.

Once Lakshya changed to the better side at half time, the game started to change. However, after a series of unlucky errors, Lakshya fell behind against Narao 14-19.

The Japanese were in full control at the time and appeared to be on course to win the competition. However, Lakshya did not let go today. The Indian star defended shuttle after shuttle and responded with flat half-arms to put Naraoka under pressure.

From 14:19, Lakshya pulled the match back to win the decider 21-19 to give India a decisive 1-0 lead in the quarter-finals.

Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have won two titles this season, registered a 21-18, 24-22 win over former world champions Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo in the first doubles to extend India’s lead to 2-0.

Ayush Shetty, a finalist at the Badminton Asia Championships this year, then produced an impressive performance to see off world number 16 Koki Watanabe 21-10, 21-19 to seal the match and win a medal for India.

India will face the winner of the second quarter-final between defending champions China and Korea in the last four leg on Wednesday.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

22 Sep 2026 15:20 IST