Asian Games 2026 Day 4 Live: Sindhu loses to Yamaguchi as Japan lead 1-0 in badminton team quarters

Real-time liveblog updates from day 4 of the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. Also check out India's medals tally, results and competition schedule for the day

The Indian contingent’s hunt for their first gold medal at the Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya enters its fourth day on Tuesday. At the end of Monday, India had six medals, none of them gold. But the Indian’s women’s cricket team, who face Sri Lanka in a repeat of the recently concluded Women’s Asia Cup final, could change that early in the morning. Also chasing a gold will be the 10m air rifle shooting pairing of Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan, who will be competing in the mixed team event.

Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organisers on Monday postponed the equestrian eventing competition in Tokyo to Tuesday due to the approaching Typhoon Dujuan. The organisers put up the updated schedule with Eventing Dressage and Eventing Jumping starting on Tuesday.

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Here’s a look at what’s coming up today:

Soft Tennis (5.30 am): Aadhya Tiwari in Women’s Singles

Sepaktakraw (5.30 am): Men’s Team in Regu vs Malaysia

Badminton (6 am): Indian women’s team comprising of PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Devika Sihag, Tanvi Sharma, Isharani Baruah, Treesa, Gayatri, Kavipriya, Simran, and Tanisha vs Japan in the quarter-finals

Shooting (6.15 am): Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan in the 10m air rifle mixed team event

Wushu: Hanjabam Langlentombi Devi in Women’s Nanquan & Nandao

Shooting (6.30 am): Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill in the second day of the skeet shooting men’s individual and team event

Shooting (6.30 am): Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon, Maheshwari Chauhan in the second day of the skeet shooting women’s individual and team event

Table tennis (6.30 am): Indian table tennis team of Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das

Fencing (6.30 am): Sanasam Hemash Singh in Men’s foil individual

Kabaddi (7:15 am) Indian men’s team in a group game against Republic of Korea

Shooting (8.25 am): Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan in 10m air rifle mixed team shooting

Cricket (10.30 am): Indian women’s team vs Sri Lanka in women’s final

Live Updates
Sep 22, 2026 07:21 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

Sindhu loses to Yamaguchi as Japan take a 1-0 lead over India in the women's team quarter-finals.

Sep 22, 2026 07:21 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

Update from Bhuvan Gupta

Yashaswini Ghorpade is in action now against Suhasini Sawettabut. She starts off clinically and races to a 10-5 lead before the Thai paddler, much like her teammate Orawan, rallies to save three game points. A lucky net cord comes to Yashaswini's rescue and she takes the first game 11-8.

Sep 22, 2026 07:16 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

Update from Bhuvan Gupta

Sreeja regains her chop-smash rhythm somewhat in Game 5, doing the early running to go ahead. Orawan's coach calls for a timeout, perhaps partly to stem her flow. It works, as Orawan takes three quick points to reduce the deficit to 5-6. It's now time for Massimo Constantini to call for a timeout. He steadies Sreeja and she responds nicely to regain a four-point cushion at 9-5.

But the Thai paddler is not going down in a whimper. She steps to her left and lets rip a booming forehand to rattle Sreeja. She strings together four straight points to bring the decider level at 9-9. Sreeja somehow induces an error from the leftie to earn a matchpoint but Orawan keeps it alive. 10-10 now.

Sreeja succumbs to the pressure and sinks a forehand in the net to lose the game 10-12 and with that, the match. Quite the comeback from Orawan - she looked dead and buried after the second game. Sreeja can't mask her disappointment as she snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. India slip to 0-1 in the best-of-five tie.

Sep 22, 2026 07:15 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

Sindhu vs Yamaguchi WS1 at the Women's Team QF (Update from Shivani Naik)

Yamaguchi 11-4 up in the third deciding set.

21-23, 21-18, 11-4

So there's dimensions to a Sindhu vs Japan game. We say Japan because Yamaguchi and Okuhara have been interchangeable. In the vertical, aerial dimension of reach and power smashes, Sindhu has conquered Okuhara at Rio Olympics, Akane at Tokyo Olympics and most recently at Japan Open.

But it's in the horizontal dimension, in change-of-direction strokes that Sindhu maintained her dominance over Those Two. The Indian deploys criss crosses well enough to outlast the compulsive defense.

But the Japanese has smartened up to this and can tug the strings back by simply pulling Sindhu on the front-back axis. The net lunge in itself is achievable, but recovering from that and tracking back -- Yamaguchi does that better than anyone in the world. Not just Sindhu.

But do expect a response. Sindhu response.

Sep 22, 2026 07:00 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

Sindhu vs Yamaguchi (India vs Japan in women's team quarters) update from Shivani Naik

Yamaguchi takes second 21-18 after being pipped in the first.

23-21, 18-21

Coach Pullela Gopichand had told Revzsportz in Nagoya on Monday that conditions have tended to be fast at Nagoya -- small arena, drift brought in by need to keep the hall cooler. And Fast = Good for Indians. Also that the first match of the tie will set the tone. Sindhu has responded well in the Women's Teams. A 9-11 score not insurmountable.

Sindhu just has that hold on Japanese.

Both players have used the body attacks well. While Yamaguchi defense can pick the unretrievables 9 times out of 10, the Sindhu attack can bulldozer through. And in faster courts, the attack just cascades. So for second time, she goes from 13-17 to 16-17.

It's expansive cross court smashes like on 17-19 that make Yamaguchi resistance futile....though not for long. The Japanese World No 3 rushes through the second set taking it 21-18 finally catching the Indian in the net lunge quagmire,

Sep 22, 2026 06:59 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

Update from Bhuvan Gupta

Orawan's resurgence continues and Sreeja appears a bit flustered now. Orawan is dominating exchanges by opening up the table, hitting topspins and smashes from both ends to leave Sreeja with no answers. The Indian loses the game 11-6 and with that, her two-game advantage. We are going to a decider with the momentum firmly in Orawan's favour.

Sep 22, 2026 06:58 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Shooting update

From Pritish Raj

Indian duo of Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Rakesh Mane enter the final of 10m Air rifle mixed team event.

The Indian duo scored 634.6 in the qualification with both shooters shooting 3 series each.

India will face China in gold medal match who qualified with 638.9.

Sep 22, 2026 06:53 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

Update from Bhuvan Gupta

Orawan gets her bearings in Game 3, forcing errors off Sreeja's racket to take the lead early. The Indian world No. 58 tries to rebound with her trademark inside-out forehands but Orawan is not to be denied. The Thai paddler converts her third game point at 10-9 to stay in the match. Sreeja still in front, needing to win one of two possible games.

Sep 22, 2026 06:45 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

Update from Bhuvan Gupta

Things going per plan for Sreeja so far. She's switching from the defensive red pips to the attacking black fluidly, finishing off points with forehand drives. Orawan out of sorts so far as Sreeja takes the second game 11-1 to lead 2-0 in the first match. One more game and the first rubber is India's.

Sep 22, 2026 06:38 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Table tennis update

India vs Thailand, TT women's team round of 16 update from Bhuvan Gupta

Right, it's time for India's first knockout tie. Sreeja Akula starts proceedings against Paranang Orawan - both their respective sides' No. 1s. Yashaswini Ghorpade lined up next, followed by Diya Chitale. Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das miss out today.

Sep 22, 2026 06:37 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

Sindhu vs Yamaguchi update from Shivani Naik

Sindhu takes opening set 23-21.

Sindhu did well to cover up the 6-10 deficit reaching 12-12. But all the action is centred on the frontcourt. While the Indian can charge the net and attack with short smashes and aggressive pushes, she also got trapped on the forecourt lunge when dictated by Yamaguchi drops at the very same spot.

These are fast and furious paced rallies as they are with These Two. So, Sindhu roared back from 13-17 to level at 18 and continued charging ferociously to go up 20-19.

That net charge was Fire.

However, Yamaguchi is three time World champ for a reason -- nailing a Beckhamesque bend smash on the line to go up 21-20.

Fast doubles-like exchange puts Sindhu ahead at 22-21. And the long-levered far-flung reaching wristy drop across court gave Sindhu the first set 23-21.

Sep 22, 2026 06:32 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

Sindhu wins first set 23-21 vs Yamaguchi!

Sindhu seals the first set after a 26-minute struggle against Yamaguchi with a forehand crosscourt winner. She was leading 20-19 when she made a error of judgement on the line and let the shuttle fall in. After that, Sindhu keeps her calm to win the set.

Five consecutive points won in the game by the Japanese, but the Indian had more points won on her serve.

Sep 22, 2026 06:26 AM IST
Asian Games 2026 Live: Badminton update

The Indian women’s team comprising of PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Devika Sihag, Tanvi Sharma, Isharani Baruah, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, Kavipriya, Simran, and Tanisha are facing Japan in the quarter-finals. And first up, we have Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles!

Sep 22, 2026 06:22 AM IST
Namaste

Good morning, sports lovers! We are into the fourth day of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and the Indian athletes have won six medals. But none of them gold! Will that change today? We have the women's cricket team playing in the final later in the morning and the 10m air rifle pairing of Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan in the mixed team shooting event who will have plenty to say about that elusive gold medal, having already contributed to India's medals tally.

If you are here, grab a coffee, stay tuned as we bring you live updates from over 10 different sports.

In Japan’s Asian Games, China’s growing footprint — on field & behind the scenes

China arrived at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as the continent’s dominant sporting power. With 38 medals, including 23 gold, they are already leading the medal table, a position they have occupied at every edition since 1982.

But there is another Chinese dominance at these Games, one that is less visible. Japan is hosting the Games, but China’s corporate presence is spread across different layers of the event, much of it away from the competition arenas.

A Shanghai-based company is the host broadcaster, another Chinese company is involved in the opening and closing ceremonies, and there are others that have been roped in for supply of temporary power, venue technology, LED screens and sporting equipment.

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