India’s men’s badminton team wrapped up its Asian Games campaign with a bronze medal on Wednesday, going down 1-3 to China in a closely fought semifinal. Though the outcome went against India’s long-time rivals once again, the campaign reaffirmed the team’s growing stature in continental badminton. The team had won silver at the 2023 Hangzhou edition, where China had defeated them in the final.
In the opening singles clash, Lakshya Sen took on world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi but was unable to recreate the form that had powered India’s run to the semifinals. Ranked 14th globally, Sen went down 16-21, 18-21, handing China an early advantage and putting India on the back foot in the best-of-five contest.
India hit back through Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who put up a dominant performance against reigning world champions Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The Indian duo prevailed 21-11, 22-20, levelling the tie at 1-1 with a win over the Paris Olympics silver medallists that shifted momentum in India’s favour.
The advantage did not last, however, as young shuttler Ayush Shetty took the court next against world No. 12 Li Shi Feng. The 20th-ranked Indian could not hold his form and lost 19-21, 13-21, allowing China to move within a single win of the final.
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With India’s hopes resting on Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, the pair battled He Ji Ting and Liu Yi and managed to claim the second game, but China closed out the tie 21-16, 17-21, 21-9 to win the semifinal 3-1.
Despite the defeat, the bronze marks a notable achievement India’s second consecutive Asian Games team medal in badminton, a feat last managed four decades ago with bronze finishes in 1982 and 1986.