Badminton News

PV Sindhu in her match against Canada's Wen Yu Zhang in the women's singles round of 32 the BWF World Championships, at IGI Stadium, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

Denmark Open Super 750: Sindhu crashes out, Srikanth & Tanvi advance to Round 2

October 13, 2026 23:07 IST

PV Sindhu suffered a first-round exit at the Denmark Open, while Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma advanced to the second round and Lakshya Sen bowed out.

Denmark Open: PV Sindhu to play Yvonne Li; Lakshya Sen faces Chou Tien-Chen

October 13, 2026 09:24 IST

Earlier, Sindhu was supposed to start her campaign against World No 1 An Se-young but there was a re-draw after two withdrawals.

There is general consensus that Unnati has a long way to go on fitness, given she isn't as strong or tall as Saina or Sindhu. (AP Photo)

Unnati Hooda, the badminton player whose footwork social media won’t leave alone

October 12, 2026 07:44 IST

A quarterfinal at the Asian Games, three matches in 18 hours and a fight with Akane Yamaguchi: her team on what is being fixed

(From left) Men's singles medalists at the Asian Games, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew (silver), Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn (gold), Indonesia's Alwi Farhan and South Korea's Yoo Tae-Bin, (bronze winners). (AP Photo)

Badminton’s men’s singles stuck in Groundhog Day, and attackers are the way outSubscriber Only

October 4, 2026 10:55 IST

Slow courts, punishing schedules and relentless defence have made the top players interchangeable. Yoo Tae-bin and the Indonesians offer hope

PV Sindhu’s gruelling 24 hours: Late night, early start and Asian Games exit

September 28, 2026 00:45 IST

A delayed start, late finish and early morning return to court left PV Sindhu with little recovery time before her quarterfinal loss to Chen Yufei.

The turnaround times for doubles have also been punishing, but singles, especially the 4 teams playing the Team Event that got over on Thursday, have suffered the most from lack of recovery. (AP Photo)

Badminton scheduling shambles at Asian Games: First complaining voices out – from China

September 27, 2026 15:33 IST

Women's doubles World No 1 Tan Ning said that the schedule has been unfair and alleged that Japanese players were getting preferential treatment.

Badminton’s biggest Asiad detractor – Poor broadcast, no streams, too many adsSubscriber Only

September 27, 2026 16:03 IST

The Asiad is lucky to have the best countries playing badminton, take it seriously. But the sport should be looking at top-notch broadcast innovations instead of what has transpired.

Treesa-Gayatri have gone about the Asian Games, doing the "needful." (PTI Photo)

Treesa-Gayatri, Unnati beat higher-ranked opponents, reach Asian Games last 8

September 27, 2026 07:54 IST

India’s doubles duo defeated World No 3 Japanese pairing Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 24-22, 21-18 and Hooda followed it up with a 21-19, 21-13 win over WR 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani

Playing a sensationally gritty match, Unnati Hooda, defeated the Indonesian Top Tenner 21-19, 21-13, literally forcing her opponent to crack in the face of a never-give-up attitude. (ANI Photo)

How Unnati Hooda beat World No 6 Wardani to make Last 8 of Asian Games

September 26, 2026 17:05 IST

"Our girl held on; she didn't leave single shuttle despite being tired," says coach Guru Saidutt who says Unnati has rare grit

India's Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty in action during the men's team doubles quarter final match against Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.

A bad shoulder, mental funk and smart Thais: Defending champs Satwik-Chirag exit

September 26, 2026 00:51 IST

The dilemma will be whether Satwik should go under the surgeon's knife to sort out his shoulder issues; the Indian pair lost to Thailand's World No.36 Pakkapon Teeratsakul and Peeratchai Sukhphun 21-12, 19-21, 21-14

Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah helped Indonesia defeat China to win the men's team event of Asian Games. (AP)

From Guwahati to Nagoya: Ubaidillah, Indonesia’s newest Badminton star

September 24, 2026 20:50 IST

The youngster went from winning for Indonesia's junior team at India's Jr Worlds in October of 2025 to helping the powerhouse defeat mighty China 3-2 at Asian Games

File image of Indian singles shuttler Lakshya Sen. (BAI Media)

Two rounds on same day for Lakshya, Ayush and Sindhu; tricky openers for doubles

September 24, 2026 11:20 IST

Lakshya vs Loh Kean Yew; Treesa-Gayatri vs Fukushima-Matsumoto; Satwik-Chirag vs Leo-Daniel and Ayush vs Alwi; Unnati vs Yamaguchi -- potentially exciting faceoffs; Sindhu will need to beat Chen Yufei for medal after she gets past Miyazaki

After a brilliant takedown of Japan in the quarters that ensured a bronze medal, both Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty couldn’t raise their levels against top Chinese, as India lost 3-1 to the serial title contenders. (Reuters)

Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty fade as China expose India’s tournament fitness

September 23, 2026 22:18 IST

India’s Asian Games semifinal loss to China raised concerns over tournament fitness after Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty struggled following the win over Japan.

India's Hariharan Amsakarunan and R Arjun Madathil in action during their men's team semi final match against China's He Ji Ting and Liu Yi. (Reuters)

Asian Games: India let down by singles as Shi Yuqi-Shifeng hand a 3-1 loss in Men’s Team SF

September 23, 2026 16:05 IST

Satwik-Chirag beat World Champs Liang, Wang, but Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty are defeated by Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng respectively

India's Lakshya Sen in action during his men's team quarter final match against Japans Kodai Naraoka

Lakshya Sen drops the burden of ‘sensational’ against Japan in 3-0 win

September 22, 2026 22:42 IST

Trailing 13-19 in the decider against Kodai Naraoka, the Indian played conventional shots; India to meet China in semis.

India's Lakshya Sen in action during his men's team quarter final match against Japan's Kodai Naraoka (REUTERS Photo)

Sen, Satwik-Chirag, Ayush take men’s team into Asian Games semis, assured of medal

September 22, 2026 15:55 IST

Sen pulls off a stunning comeback from a set down and later from a 10-16 deficit in decider against World No 7 Kodai Naraoka to put India on the path to the medal

Only three country's men's singles shuttlers have won an Asian Games gold - China (8), Indonesia (7) and Malaysia (1, back in 1970). (Reuters Photo)

Why Asian Games gold in badminton is the pinnacle for China and IndonesiaSubscriber Only

September 20, 2026 12:55 IST

Asiad gold is easily the biggest goals through the East Asian crescent from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia to Malaysia, enough to relegate a World Championship to a run-up test event as India’s Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty face a stiff challenge

Asian Games: Lakshya Sen will need to overcome Kodai Naraoka and Ayush needs to down Yushi Tanaka, even as Satwik-Chirag will be up against Hoki-Kobayashi if India need to advance. (BWF/Badminton Photo)

Badminton Asian Games draw: India men, women potentially face Japan in QF

September 19, 2026 09:47 IST

Asian Games 2026: India won silver at the men's teams in Hangzhou; Tougher challenge for women with Yamaguchi, Miyazaki needing to be overcome, though first doubles starts 50/50

Asian Games 2026: India's best doubles pairs are abandoning fixed roles for something harder to scout against.

Asian Games: Satwik, Treesa at the net, Chirag and Gayatri smashing from the back

September 17, 2026 12:04 IST

Two pairs, two swapped roles, Indian doubles badminton is making itself harder to read.

Bengaluru whiz Tanvi Patri, is making expected progress and followed up her U15 Asian title with an U17 one, while still only 15. (BAI)

Badminton: Tanvi Patri wins U17 Asian title, ahead of Jr Worlds trialSubscriber Only

September 13, 2026 23:43 IST

Bengaluru whiz Tanvi Patri, is making expected progress and followed up her U15 Asian title with an U17 one, while still only 15. Both came at Chengdu, China.

File image of shuttler Tanvi Sharma. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)

Tanvi Sharma’s frittering of leads is due to physical fitness, not some mental fragilitySubscriber Only

September 13, 2026 15:07 IST

Dumping pressure on Tanvi and criticising her for 'chokes' like leading 19-13 and 20-16 like in Vietnam loss, doesn't diagnose the real problem. Top names including PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth as well as Lakshya Sen at Olympics have wasted leads in the past. It's badminton. Opponents don't sit twiddling thumbs in endgames.

World No 188 Sanskar Saraswat back on track after scoring upset win at VietnamSubscriber Only

September 10, 2026 18:21 IST

6-ft-3 NCE trainee, whose father played on old Bijlighar cement courts in Jodhpur, defeats compatriot World No 51 Kiran George 21-12, 10-21, 21-18 at Ho Chi Minh city to make quarters of the Super 100 event

Satwik and Chirag don't feel extra pressure to defend the Asian Games crown. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

‘A sense of belonging, we owe it to each other’: Satwik-Chirag on their bondSubscriber Only

September 7, 2026 23:29 IST

Fresh after clinching the China Masters 750, Indian badminton's dynamic duo on what makes them tick, how they always find new ways to improve, and their plans on Asian Games title defence

What this week showed was how Satwik and Chirag are capable of shrugging off deficits before turning it on at the endgame. (BWF/Badminton Photo)

Satwik-Chirag seal China Masters Super 750 title with a fighting win over He-RenSubscriber Only

September 6, 2026 20:19 IST

Straight pushes and sturdier temperament help Indians overcome a first set deficit to win 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 at Shenzhen

Malaysian coaches believe the 2022 World champions should be split to optimise chances of gold at Los Angeles 2028. (Reuters Photo)

In Malaysian badminton, ‘split, why split’ saga of a doubles pair takes centre stageSubscriber Only

September 6, 2026 08:01 IST

Coaches believe the pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik should be split and linked up with younger partners to optimise chances of gold at the Los Angeles Olympics