Ichinomiya City, September 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s Ayush Shetty bowed out of the Asian Games men’s singles competition after a hard-fought third-round defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Tien-Chen Chou on Saturday, while Unnati Hooda and PV Sindhu progressed in the women’s singles event.
World No. 20 Ayush pushed Chou to three games before losing 16-21, 21-19, 17-21 in a closely contested encounter. The Indian had earlier defeated Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-7 in just 21 minutes to reach the third round.
Ayush made a strong response after losing the opening game against Chou, taking the second 21-19. However, the Chinese Taipei shuttler remained composed in the decider and closed out the match 21-17 to end the Indian’s campaign.
Unnati, meanwhile, battled past Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 21-14, 20-22, 21-19 in a 79-minute contest to book her place in the women’s singles Round of 16.
The World No. 25 Indian started confidently, taking the opening game 21-14, but World No. 38 Wong fought back to win the second 22-20. The deciding game remained tight before Unnati moved to two match points at 20-18. Wong saved one, but sent a cross-court shot wide on the next point, triggering celebrations among the Indian supporters.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima 24-22, 21-18 in a match lasting an hour.
The victory keeps Treesa and Gayatri in contention to become India’s first women’s doubles pair to win an Asian Games medal. A quarterfinal victory over Malaysia’s Pearly Koong Le Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan would secure them a place in the semifinals and guarantee at least a bronze medal.
Earlier, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also entered the women’s singles Round of 16 after beating Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian 21-19, 21-14.
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