Ayush Shetty's Asian Games campaign ended in the men's singles third round on Saturday in Ichinomiya City, as the Indian shuttler fell to Chinese Taipei's Tien-Chen Chou 16-21, 21-19, 17-21 in a tightly fought three-game contest. The defeat ended what had been a promising run for the World No. 20 Indian, who had swept through his earlier rounds.

Ayush's Spirited Exit

Shetty had entered the third round in commanding form, needing just 21 minutes to dismiss Kazakhstan's Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-7 in the second round, controlling the contest from start to finish without allowing his opponent any foothold. Against Chou, however, the equation was far more demanding. Ayush lost the first game, fought back to win the second 21-19, and appeared in contention — but Chou held his nerve in the decider, eventually taking the third game 21-17 to seal the match and send the Indian home.

Unnati Hooda Fights Through to Round of 16

Unnati Hooda, ranked World No. 25, kept India's women's singles hopes alive with a hard-earned victory over Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching (World No. 38), the match concluding after 79 minutes with the score 21-14, 20-22, 21-19. Unnati dominated the opener before Wong turned the second game around late, forcing a decider. In a tense final game, the Indian reached 20-18 and held two match points — Wong saved the first, but then hit a cross-court shot wide on the second, sending the Indian contingent into celebration. Unnati now advances to the women's singles Round of 16.

Treesa-Gayatri Reach Quarterfinals, Eye Historic Medal

In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand powered into the quarterfinals with a 24-22, 21-18 win over Japan's Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima in a match that lasted one hour. The pair now face Malaysia's Pearly Koong Le Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the quarterfinals, and a win there would guarantee them at least a bronze medal — making them India's first-ever women's doubles medallists at the Asian Games.

PV Sindhu Also in Round of 16

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu had already secured her place in the women's singles Round of 16 earlier in the tournament, defeating Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-14. This comes as Sindhu seeks to add an Asian Games gold to her already illustrious career. India's women's singles contingent, with both Sindhu and Unnati progressing, now carries significant weight into the knockout rounds.

With badminton's knockout phase intensifying, all eyes will be on whether Treesa and Gayatri can breach the quarterfinal barrier and script history for Indian women's doubles.