xtraTime Web Desk

India’s men’s badminton team won the bronze medal at the Asian Games after losing 3-1 to China in the semifinal. While the Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty duo secured a victory in the doubles, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty suffered defeats against higher-ranked opponents in the singles matches.

At the 2023 Asian Games, India had lost to China in the final and settled for silver. However, with their bronze medal this time, the Indian men’s badminton team has achieved a historic feat by winning medals in two consecutive Asian Games after 40 years. India had previously won bronze medals in 1982 and 1986.

World No. 14 Lakshya Sen had played a crucial role in helping India reach the semifinals with a brilliant performance in the quarterfinals. However, he could not replicate that performance against world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi in the semifinal. Lakshya lost the match 16-21, 18-21.

India bounced back in the doubles as Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced an impressive performance. The Indian pair defeated Paris Olympic silver medallists and reigning world champions Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, winning 21-11, 22-20.

The pressure then shifted to 20-year-old Indian star Ayush Shetty. Ranked No. 20 in the world, Ayush faced world No. 12 Li Shi Feng but lost the match 19-21, 13-21.

In the second doubles match, India’s world No. 25 pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun suffered defeat against the Chinese duo.

Despite the semifinal loss, India secured the bronze medal and created history by winning consecutive Asian Games badminton medals after a gap of 40 years.