India’s women’s badminton team cruised into the quarterfinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 with a commanding 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday.
PV. Sindhu, Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma delivered straight-game victories at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, ensuring India progressed without dropping a match. The result sets up a challenging quarterfinal meeting with host Japan.
Double Olympic medallist Sindhu gave India a strong start with a dominant performance against Kazakhstan’s World No. 426 Kamila Smagulova. Sindhu needed only 24 minutes to complete a 21-7, 21-9 victory and put her team ahead.
Unnati continued India’s control of the tie in the second singles contest. Facing World No. 866 Alissa Kuleshova, the Indian youngster allowed her opponent little opportunity to settle into the match.
Unnati wrapped up a 21-7, 21-10 win in just 22 minutes, leaving India one victory away from securing its place in the last eight.
Tanvi then finished the job with another convincing display. The World Junior Championships silver medallist defeated World No. 1067 Diana Namenova 21-5, 21-10 in 19 minutes to complete India’s 3-0 sweep.
India will now turn its attention to a significantly tougher test against Japan. The host nation is seeded second in the competition and received a bye through the round of 16.
Japan’s squad features considerable experience and quality, including former world champions Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara. The quarterfinal will therefore provide a major challenge for an Indian side that made an impressive start to its campaign against Kazakhstan.
Sindhu’s experience, along with the promising form of Unnati and Tanvi, will be important as India attempts to move deeper into the women’s team competition.
Meanwhile, India’s men’s badminton team will begin its campaign on Monday. The side, which won the silver medal at the previous edition, is scheduled to face Bangladesh in the round of 16.
After the women’s team completed a clinical opening victory, attention will now shift to the quarterfinal against host Japan and the start of the men’s campaign.
