Indian badminton stars Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth have expressed confidence ahead of the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. The 20-member squad, featuring the core of the Hangzhou 2023 silver-winning team, is gearing up for the challenge.
Ahead of the Asian Games 2026, Indian badminton stars Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth expressed confidence in their preparations while acknowledging the quality of opposition they are set to face in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
India has named a 20-member badminton squad for the Asian Games 2026, with Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, all members of the silver medal-winning men’s team at Hangzhou 2023, included in the Japan-bound contingent.
The men’s team also features Ayush Shetty, Tharun Mannepalli, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila. In the individual events, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty will compete in men’s singles, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, will feature in men’s doubles. India’s men’s squad retains much of the core that clinched a bronze medal at the Thomas Cup earlier this year.
Lakshya Sen: ‘Excited and Well-Prepared’
Speaking to ANI ahead of India’s badminton campaign at the Asian Games, Lakshya Sen said he is excited and well-prepared for the Asian Games, recognising it as one of the biggest tournaments in Asia. He acknowledged the pressure and expectations on India, given the team’s past performances, but stressed that the focus remains on winning each match, giving their best and securing medals for the country. He added that he is personally highly motivated and eager to begin his campaign.
“I’m very excited about this tournament, and it’s one of the biggest tournaments in Asia. I’m really looking forward to the matches now, and the preparation has been good. I’m really looking forward to playing my matches. We have done well in the past. There is a lot of pressure to perform at the highest level, and yeah, these are the tournaments India should expect, and we, as a team, are focused on giving our best and winning medals for our country. But yeah, at the same time, whenever we are playing, we just focus on winning the matches, giving our best for the country and even and for me, I’m really motivated and really looking forward to playing the matches and winning medals for India,” he said.
He said the team is awaiting the draws and acknowledged that all opponents will be tough, with the team event depending on consistent performances across all five matches. “We’re still waiting for the draws. All the teams are difficult, and especially in the team event, when you play five matches, it depends a lot on how the whole team performs, and China is there, and then a lot of other big teams are also competing,” he said.
HS Prannoy Confirms Last Asian Games Appearance
Meanwhile, shuttler HS Prannoy confirmed that the 2026 Asian Games will be his last appearance at the continental multi-sport event, as he targets a deep run with the men’s team after India’s silver-medal finish in Hangzhou three years ago. Speaking to ANI on Friday, Prannoy said preparations had gone well and that the Indian men’s team would be aiming for gold this time. “Yes, this is my last Asian Games. You won’t see me in the Asian Games. I think that much; I’m pretty much sure,” the veteran shuttler said.
Lakshya Sen Praises Veteran Teammates
Reacting to Prannoy’s decision, Lakshya praised the veteran’s experience and guidance, saying the younger players in the team look up to both Prannoy and Srikanth. “I think they are the seniors of the team for quite some time now, and we have seen them perform at the highest level. They’ve given us a lot of advice, and the courage to go out there and perform better for the country. So yeah, I think all the youngsters in the team, we really look up to them, Srikanth bhaiya and Prannoy bhaiya, for that matter. It has been a pleasure playing alongside both of them, and if they say it’s the last tournament, then I wish him all the very best, and it has always been very, very fun competing with those guys,” he said.
Kidambi Srikanth: ‘We Can Beat Any Team’
Kidambi Srikanth, on the other hand, said India has a strong chance of winning a medal in Aichi-Nagoya, praising his teammates’ performances over the past year and expressing confidence that they can beat any team if they play to their potential. He also thanked fans for their support and expectations, saying the team would do its best.
“I’m really very excited to be here. We definitely have a great chance again to win a medal in the team event. So I’m just really very excited. All of the other nine players are also doing really well; they’ve been exceptionally well. They’ve done exceptionally well in the last one year. So I strongly believe that if all of us can play up to our potential, we definitely can beat any team,” he said.
“I’m just very happy to know that people believe that we can win medals. We’ve come a long way. This wasn’t the case probably 15-20 years back. So we’ve come a long way and I’m just extremely happy that everybody is expecting us to win medals and also that there are so many people that come in to watch and support us. So I would just really like to thank all of them and again we will definitely try and do our best,” he added.
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