India was defeated 1-3 by Japan in the women’s badminton team quarterfinals at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday. Despite strong performances from two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the Indian team could not progress further in the competition.
The encounter began with PV Sindhu facing Akane Yamaguchi. Sindhu secured a closely contested first game 23-21 after several lead changes, including being level at 5-5, 12-12, and 18-18. Yamaguchi claimed the second game 21-18 after establishing an 11-9 lead at the interval and maintaining it despite Sindhu’s attempts to close the gap. In the decider, Sindhu trailed 4-11 at the break and ultimately lost 11-21, giving Japan a 1-0 advantage.
The second singles match featured Unnati Hooda against Tomoka Miyazaki. Hooda lost the first game 16-21 after a tight contest and led 11-4 in the second game at the interval. However, Miyazaki recovered to take the second 21-18 and clinch the match, extending Japan’s lead to 2-0.
In the third match, the Indian women’s doubles team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced the world number three duo Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. The Indian pair won the first game 21-17 after holding a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval. They maintained their momentum in the second game, leading 11-8 at the break, and secured a 21-16 victory to reduce the overall deficit to 2-1, keeping India’s hopes alive.
Tanvi Sharma represented India in the fourth singles but was defeated by Nozomi Okuhara in straight games, 12-21 and 10-21, concluding the tie in Japan’s favour at 3-1.