PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda & Treesa-Gayatri storm into Asian Games quarterfinals; Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty crash out

Nagoya, September 26: Veteran star PV Sindhu and teenager Unnati Hooda advanced to the women's singles quarterfinals at the Asian Games in Nagoya with impressive victories, while India's men's singles campaign suffered setbacks as Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty were knocked out on Saturday.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu delivered a commanding performance in her third-round match, defeating Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki 21-9, 21-13 in straight games to book her place in the last eight.

Earlier, Sindhu had overcome Chinese Taipei's world No. 17 Chiu Pin-chian 21-19, 21-14 in the second round.

Unnati, meanwhile, produced one of the day's standout results. The 19-year-old Haryana shuttler, ranked world No. 24, defeated Indonesian world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-19, 21-13 to reach the quarterfinals. Unnati had earlier survived a tough contest against Malaysia's Ling Ching Wong, winning 21-14, 20-22, 21-19. Her victory over Putri also avenged her defeat to the Indonesian at last year's Hylo Open.

Against Putri, Unnati recovered from a 15-17 deficit in the opening game before eventually taking it 21-19. She maintained control in the second game, overcoming an 8-8 phase to build a decisive lead and close out the match in straight games.

She will face Japan's former world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinals.

Tree-Ga Stun World No. 3

In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their strong run by defeating Japan's world No. 3 pair Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima 24-22, 21-18. It was their second win over the Japanese pair in a week, following their victory in India's women's team quarterfinal against Japan.

Treesa and Gayatri, who won a maiden World Championships bronze medal in New Delhi last month, will next face Malaysia's Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan.

Disappointment In Men's Singles

While there were lots to celebrate in the women's singles and doubles, the men's contingent brought disappointment, with India's challenge ending with Ayush Shetty's defeat in the round of 16.

Lakshya Sen, ranked world No. 14, was beaten by Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew 12-21, 21-15, 14-21 in a match lasting more than an hour. The defeat means Sen's wait for an individual Asian Games medal continues. He had won Commonwealth Games gold in 2022 and finished fourth at the Paris Olympics.

Ayush Shetty also bowed out after a spirited battle against Chinese Taipei's veteran Chou Tien Chen. After comfortably beating Kazakhstan's Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-7 in the second round, Ayush lost his pre-quarterfinal 16-21, 21-19, 17-21.

India had already suffered a major setback with the shock men's doubles exit of former world No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Lakshya does, however, have a team bronze medal from the current Games, having helped India finish on the podium in the team event on Wednesday.

With Sindhu, Unnati and the Treesa-Gayatri combination still alive in the individual competitions, India's hopes now rest heavily on the women's draws as the badminton tournament enters its decisive stages.