Badminton athletes criticise late matches and tight Asian Games schedule

Badminton players at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya have criticised a schedule that required some competitors to play twice in one day, with PV Sindhu’s third-round match beginning shortly after midnight. Sindhu’s match against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki started at 12:07am on Sunday. It was the second match of the day for both players.

Sindhu won 21-9, 21-13, but was scheduled to play China’s Chen Yufei, the world No. 4, at about 1pm the following day. The scheduling has raised concerns about recovery time in a sport where matches can be physically demanding.

Former Indian player HS Prannoy, who was part of India’s bronze-medal-winning team event squad, said the arrangements were unfair to competitors. Prannoy said players had sometimes returned to their hotels late after ceremonies and then had to travel back to the venue early the next morning. He cited India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who he said returned late after the team event before facing a 9am match.

He also questioned why badminton had to finish on September 29 when the Asian Games continue until October 4. The team events ran from September 20 to 24, with individual competition beginning on September 25. Other players were affected as well.

Thailand’s mixed-doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran played at 9am after Dechapol had reportedly remained at the venue until late the previous night for the team-event medal ceremony. India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also referred to the difficulty of competing soon after the team event. Indian players had mixed results.

Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty were eliminated, while Sindhu advanced. The report also said some matches, including Sindhu’s next contest, were assigned to a court without a broadcast feed, adding to complaints about the competition’s organisation.