Unnati Hooda reaches Asian Games 2026 badminton pre

Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles badminton event at the Asian Games 2026 after defeating Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in a three-game match on September 26.

Unnati secured a 2-1 victory with scores of 21-14, 20-22, 21-19 to book her place in the next round, where she will face Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani.

The Indian player, ranked 25th globally, began strongly by winning the opening game 21-14. Wong, ranked 38th, responded sharply to take the second game 22-20 in a closely contested battle. In the deciding game, both competitors remained neck and neck before Unnati secured two match points at 20-18. Wong saved one but then sent a cross-court shot wide, allowing Unnati to clinch the win.

Meanwhile, India recorded a strong start to the day’s events at the Asian Games. Sawan Barwal won silver in the men’s marathon, setting a national record with a time of 2:11:37. In shooting, Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen, and Vidarsa Vinod earned the team silver medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3P event. Tilottama and Vidarsa also qualified for the final, finishing third and 65th in the qualification round respectively.

In squash, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar claimed a bronze medal in mixed doubles after falling to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi in the semifinals.

In badminton, Lakshya Sen was eliminated in the men’s singles second round by Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, while Unnati Hooda advanced as noted above.

Indian archers performed well in qualification rounds, with Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, and Prithika Pradeep placing second in the women’s team compound qualification. Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan, and Yashdeep Bhoge finished third in the men’s team recurve qualification, with Dhiraj setting new Asian and national records.

In athletics, Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continued competing in the decathlon, with Tejaswin leading the long jump event and remaining in medal contention. Animesh Kujur advanced to the men’s 200m semifinal after winning his heat.

India made progress in fencing, as the women’s foil and men’s sabre teams won their round-of-16 matches before exiting in the quarterfinals against Japan and South Korea respectively.

In canoe sprint, Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar reached Final A in the mixed kayak double 500m, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat advanced to Final B. India placed eighth in the mixed canoe double 500m final through competitors Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam.

In table tennis, Yashaswini Ghorpade and Manush Shah were eliminated in the singles rounds. The esports player Paritosh lost in the Puyo Puyo Champions quarterfinal.

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