Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles badminton event at the Asian Games on September 26, securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching. Hooda bounced back from a tight second-game loss to close out the match 21-14, 20-22, 21-19, setting up a next-round clash against Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani.
Unnati Hooda’s Battle Through to the Pre-Quarterfinals
Ranked 25th globally, Hooda started strongly against her 38th-ranked opponent by taking the opening game 21-14. Wong responded sharply in the second, edging out the Indian player 22-20 to level the match. In the deciding game, both competitors remained neck and neck until Hooda secured two match points at 20-18. Although Wong saved the first, she sent a cross-court shot wide, allowing Hooda to clinch the victory.
Strong Start for the Indian Contingent Across Disciplines
Alongside Hooda’s singles progression, India recorded notable performances across multiple sports on the same day. Sawan Barwal captured a silver medal in the men’s marathon, establishing a national record with a time of 2:11:37. In shooting, the trio of Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen, and Vidarsa Vinod earned a team silver medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3P event. Tilottama and Vidarsa also qualified for the individual final, finishing third and 65th respectively in the qualification round.
In squash, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar claimed a bronze medal in mixed doubles following a semifinal defeat to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi. Meanwhile, in men’s singles badminton, Lakshya Sen exited the tournament in the second round after a defeat against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
Archery, Athletics, and Additional Events
Indian archers posted strong qualification results. The women’s team compound lineup of Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, and Prithika Pradeep placed second in their qualification round. In the men’s team recurve qualification, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan, and Yashdeep Bhoge finished third, with Dhiraj setting new Asian and national records.
On the track, Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad competed in the decathlon, with Shankar taking the lead in the long jump event to remain in medal contention. Animesh Kujur secured a spot in the men’s 200m semifinal after winning his heat. In fencing, both the women’s foil and men’s sabre teams won their round-of-16 matches before exiting in the quarterfinals against Japan and South Korea respectively.
Canoe sprint competitors Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar advanced to Final A in the mixed kayak double 500m, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat reached Final B. Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam finished eighth in the mixed canoe double 500m final. In table tennis, Yashaswini Ghorpade and Manush Shah exited in the singles rounds, and esports athlete Paritosh was eliminated in the Puyo Puyo Champions quarterfinal.
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