Asian Games 2026: Satwik-Chirag win not enough as India lose to China in men’s badminton semi-final; settle for bronze

The Indian men’s badminton team settled for a bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after losing 3-1 to China in the semi-finals on Wednesday.India won the silver medal at the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, where they also lost to China in the final.China took an early lead after Shi Yu Qi defeated Lakshya Sen in straight games in the opening singles.India hit back through the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty who defeated China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20 to level the score at 1-1. The Indian pair beat the reigning World Cup gold medalists to keep India in the competition.China regained the lead as Li Shifeng beat Ayush Shetty 21-19, 21-13 in the second singles to make it 2-1.Asian Games full coverage | Schedule | Medal countsIndia needed a win in the fourth match to stay alive but the doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun lost 21-16, 17-21, 21-9. The Indian duo fought back to win the second match after losing the opening match, but the Chinese pair dominated the decider to seal the tie and send China into the final.However, it was a respectable result for the Indian men’s team as they secured their first Asian Games medal in 40 years after bronze medals won in the 1982 and 1986 editions.