PV Sindhu reaches badminton pre-quarters as Abhay Singh enters squash final at Asian Games 2026

Indian badminton player PV Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles round of 16 at the Asian Games 2026 by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian in straight games on Saturday. Sindhu secured a 21-19, 21-14 victory in the second-round match to progress further in the competition.

The Indian shuttler encountered a competitive first game, with Chiu maintaining pressure, but Sindhu held her composure to take the game 21-19. She then improved her performance in the second game, controlling the rallies to win 21-14. Sindhu is scheduled to face Japan’s world No. 7 Tomoka Miyazaki later on Saturday.

In squash, Indian player Abhay Singh reached the men’s singles final by defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 in straight games during the semifinal. Singh displayed dominance in the opening game and maintained composure in the second game, closing it 12-10. He then comfortably sealed the match with an 11-6 win in the third game.

Ranked 26th worldwide, Abhay Singh will compete against the winner of the semifinal between Pakistan’s Noor Zaman and Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in the final.

India experienced further success on Saturday as the women’s kabaddi team won the gold medal by defeating Iran 37-34 in the final. In squash, Anahat Singh also advanced to the women’s singles final by overcoming Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 3-2 in a semifinal comeback. Meanwhile, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar secured a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event.

In athletics, Sawan Barwal claimed silver in the men’s marathon with a national record time of 2:11:37. Decathletes Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continued their events, with Tejaswin finishing first in the long jump and ranking third overall after shot put. Animesh Kujur qualified for the men’s 200m semifinal.

Shooting events saw Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen, and Vidarsa Vinod capture silver in the women’s 50m rifle 3P team event. Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod placed fourth and fifth respectively in the individual final.

In badminton, PV Sindhu, Ayush Shetty, and Unnati Hooda progressed in their singles events, while Lakshya Sen was eliminated following a defeat by Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. Boxer Kapil Pokhariya reached the men’s 90kg quarterfinals after defeating Iran’s Sam Estaki, whereas Jadumani Singh was defeated by Philippines’ Carlo Paalam.

Indian archers Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, and Prithika Pradeep finished second in the women’s recurve team qualification. The men’s recurve team comprising Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan, and Yashdeep Bhoge placed third in their qualification.

In fencing, India reached the quarterfinals of the women’s foil and men’s sabre team events after round-of-16 victories but subsequently lost to Japan and South Korea respectively. In canoe sprint, Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar advanced to Final A, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat progressed to Final B.

Other results included India’s defeat to Japan in Pokémon Unite esports, losses for Yashaswini Ghorpade and Manush Shah in table tennis, and dressage riders Hriday Vipul Chheda, Jai Sud, and Shruti Vora finishing outside the top positions after the second qualification round. Surfing events featuring Indian athletes were postponed due to weather conditions.

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