Nagoya, Sept 23:
India’s men’s badminton team assured itself of an Asian Games medal after defeating hosts Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, with Lakshya Sen producing a stirring comeback in the opening singles.
Lakshya overcame world No. 7 Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19 after trailing 14-19 in the deciding game. The Indian reeled off seven consecutive points to complete a remarkable recovery and give India the lead.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then extended India’s advantage by defeating former world champions Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo 21-18, 24-22.
Ayush Shetty completed the 3-0 victory with a 21-10, 21-19 win over world No. 16 Koki Watanabe. The result sent India into the semifinals and guaranteed the team a medal.
The women’s team, however, bowed out after losing 1-3 to Japan in the quarterfinals. PV Sindhu fought hard against former world champion Akane Yamaguchi, winning the first game 23-21 after recovering from 13-17 down.
Yamaguchi levelled with a 21-18 win in the second game and then pulled away in the decider. Sindhu fell 6-14 behind and could not recover.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand gave India its lone victory in the tie, but the singles losses proved decisive as Japan sealed the contest.
The Indian men’s team, silver medallists at the previous Asian Games, will face the winner of the China-Korea quarterfinal in the semifinals.