India men sweep Japan 3-0 to seal Asian Games medal

India's men's badminton team defeated hosts Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, securing a second successive medal at the continental event. The tie was decided at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi-Nagoya. Lakshya Sen gave India the opening point by overcoming world No. 7 Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19. Sen dropped the first game but rebounded to dominate the second before edging a tight decider. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then beat Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 24-22 in the doubles to put India 2-0 up. Ayush Shetty completed the sweep with a 21-10, 21-19 victory over Koki Watanabe. The result guarantees India a podium finish after the team took silver at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China, where it lost the final to China. One report described the outcome as the men's team's first back-to-back Asian Games medals in 40 years. India had earlier beaten Bangladesh 3-0 in the round of 16. The men will face China in Wednesday's semifinal after China defeated South Korea 3-2. A victory would give India a chance to reach the final and pursue a first Asian Games gold in the event.