Badminton at Asiad: Indian men outclass Japan 3-0 to be assured of medal, women bow out

NAGOYA: Lakshya Sen's stirring comeback was the perfect subplot as the Indian men's badminton team produced a superlative performance to outwit Japan in the quarterfinals and assure itself of a medal, but it was curtains for the women's team following a 1-3 loss to the hosts at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

It was a flawless performance from the Indian men, silver medallists at the last edition, as they rode on victories from Lakshya, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and Ayush Shetty.

Coming into the event after a series of early exits and low on confidence, Lakshya was staring at defeat after losing the opening game and trailing 14-19 in the decider.

However, the 25-year-old from Almora proved his mettle, reeling off seven straight points to beat world No.7 and two-time world championships silver-medallist Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19 to give India a 1-0 lead.

Playing the first doubles, Satwik and Chirag, who have won two titles this season, registered a 21-18, 24-22 win over former world champions Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo to extend India's lead to 2-0.

Ayush, a finalist at the Badminton Asia Championships this year, then produced an impressive performance to see off world no. 16 Koki Watanabe 21-10 21-19 to seal the match and a medal for India.

India will face the winner of the other quarterfinal between defending champions China and Korea in the last four stage on Wednesday.

"It's a great win today for our men's team over Japan at the Asian Games in Japan. This brings back some very special memories of the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul,” former India coach Vimal Kumar said.

Kumar was part of the Indian men's badminton team at the 1986 Games alongside Prakash Padukone, Syed Modi, Uday Pawar, Ravi Kunte, Leroy D'Sa and Sanat Misra.

“One of the most memorable moments of our campaign was our victory over Japan. Prakash and I won our respective singles matches, and Prakash, partnering Uday Pawar, won the men's doubles. It was a proud moment for all of us and a memorable victory for Indian badminton,” he said.

"Great to see similar memories being created again. It takes me right back to Seoul 1986," he added.

The win lifted some of the gloom after the women's team's loss earlier in the day.

While the World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced a clinical performance, the singles players faltered as the women's team bowed out of the quadrennial event with a 1-3 loss to Japan in the quarterfinals.

Lakshya vs Naraoka

The build-up to the Games could not have been worse for world no. 14 Lakshya, as he made an early exit from the home World Championships after losing to USA's Garrett Tan, who was ranked world No. 92 at the time.

His mentor Vimal Kumar later revealed that he had been dealing with a back injury.

Playing a high-pressure match against an opponent who had defeated him in four of the last five meetings, Lakshya struggled initially, with the drift in the hall also playing a role.

Lakshya soon surrendered the opening game. However, after a pep talk from chief coach Pullela Gopichand and a change of sides, the Indian made an emphatic comeback, dominating the second game with a series of smashes aimed at his opponent's backhand to race to an 11-2 lead.

The Almora shuttler continued the momentum, moving to 16-3 as he mixed his shots well and Naraoka struggled to keep the shuttle inside. Lakshya sealed the game when the Japanese player's lift again went long.

In the decider, Lakshya initially managed to keep himself within touching distance, but Naraoka took an 11-6 lead at the break before the final change of ends.

The Japanese moved to 16-10 despite a fighting Lakshya, who kept engaging his rival in rallies and waiting for his chance.

However, two unforced errors from Lakshya saw the Japanese move to 19-14.

The Indian then made a strong comeback, reeling off four points as Naraoka crumbled under pressure and committed too many errors.

Lakshya unleashed two precise returns to the back-line to earn a match point and sealed the contest when Naraoka sprayed his next shot into the net.

Sindhu vs Yamaguchi

Sindhu was looking good after she recovered from a 13-17 deficit to clinch the opening game 23-21 against Yamaguchi.

The battle between the two former world champions saw them battle it out in some exciting rallies, averaging 35-36 shots.

Sindhu earned a game point but a wrong judgement at the back-line allowed Yamaguchi to make a comeback.

The Indian grabbed another game point after her opponent found the net and sealed it with a cross-court forehand winner to grab the early initiative.

After the change of sides, Yamaguchi held a two-point lead at the mid-game interval. Sindhu threatened to make another comeback from 12-17 down, but the Japanese held her nerve to take the second game 21-18.

It all went downhill for Sindhu in the decider as she fell 6-14 behind.

Eventually Yamaguchi earned 10 match points and sealed the contest with a precise return.