Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 23: China beat India 3-1 in the Asian Games 2026 men’s team semifinal. The Indian men’s badminton team still leave with bronze. It is their first back-to-back medal run in 40 years.
A semifinal defeat rarely carries historical weight. For the Indian men’s badminton team, this one does. China won the Asian Games 2026 semifinal 3-1 at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. The result handed India a bronze medal in the men’s team event. Coming after silver at Hangzhou 2023, it completes consecutive Asian Games podiums. India last managed that sequence with bronzes in 1982 and 1986.
Shi Yu Qi gives China the early edge
The five-match tie opened with a clear ranking gap. World No. 14 Lakshya Sen faced world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi. Lakshya was the lower-ranked player by eight places. Shi won 21-16, 21-18 in straight games. The margins were modest, yet China moved 1-0 ahead.
Satwik-Chirag beat world champions to level the tie
India’s reply came through first doubles. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. The Chinese pair are reigning world champions and Paris Olympic silver medallists.
Satwik-Chirag won the opening game 21-11. The second was far tighter, but the Indians took it 22-20. That straight-games win brought India level at 1-1. It would prove India’s only victory of the semifinal.
Li Shi Feng restores China’s lead
The second singles again pitted India against a higher-ranked opponent. World No. 20 Ayush Shetty met world No. 12 Li Shi Feng. Li edged the first game 21-19. He then took the second more comfortably, 21-13. China were back in front at 2-1. Ayush’s defeat meant India again had to chase the tie.
Second doubles seals China’s place in the final
India now needed Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun to keep the tie alive. The world No. 25 pair faced He Ji Ting and Liu Yi. He was a late addition after Chen Boyang fell suddenly ill.
The Chinese pair won the first game 21-16. Hariharan and Arjun responded strongly, taking the second 21-17. China, however, controlled the decider and won it 21-9. That completed a 3-1 win and sent China into the final.
How the India vs China badminton semifinal was decided
The pattern was clear across four matches. China won both singles and the second doubles. India’s lone point came from Satwik-Chirag. In each singles contest, the Indian player was the lower-ranked competitor. Rankings suggested an uphill task in singles, and so it proved.
Bronze extends India’s Asian Games medal run
China also beat India in the Hangzhou 2023 final. That contest delivered India a silver medal. This bronze turns that result into a consecutive medal run.
India had not achieved such a sequence since 1982 and 1986. Both of those earlier medals were bronze. Forty years later, the Indian men’s badminton team have repeated the feat. The semifinal ended in defeat, yet the bronze marks a meaningful milestone.
