India advances to the men’s badminton team event semifinals at the Asian Games 2026 after beating the hosts Japan 3-0 in a quarterfinal match. Lakshya Sen delivers the key performance against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, turning around a difficult start to secure the deciding singles result and set up India’s overall sweep.
Sen drops the first game and then recovers decisively, winning the second to level the tie. After Japan regains control in the decider, Sen overcomes a late deficit with a run of consecutive points to clinch the match. The win is then extended by India’s doubles team, with Satwik-sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty prevailing over Japan’s pair in straight sets, followed by Ayush Shetty defeating Koki Watanabe to confirm India’s place in the semifinals.
While the men progress, at least one outlet notes that the women’s team is eliminated by Japan in its own event, underscoring a split result for India across the badminton team competitions. India’s next semifinal match is set against the winner of the quarterfinal between China and Korea, according to one report.
