HS Prannoy Questions Asian Games 2026 Badminton Schedule

HS Prannoy has criticised the Asian Games 2026 badminton timetable after Indian singles players Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda were required to return to court for Round of 16 matches on Saturday, only hours after completing their second-round fixtures.

Prannoy raised the issue in a post on X, pointing to the short recovery period facing players during a demanding competition schedule. He also referred to the previous night’s team-event medal ceremony, which he said ran until 11 pm before many players had their first match the following day.

“This year’s Asian Games schedule looks like a South zone championships schedule. Medal ceremony went till 11 pm for the team event and so many players had first match the next day. And now 2 singles matches scheduled on the same day. Just crazy,” Prannoy posted.

Shetty and Hooda advance in contrasting second-round matches

Shetty moved into the Round of 16 with a swift 21-7, 21-7 win over Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev. The World No. 20 Indian completed the straight-games victory in 21 minutes and was described as being in control throughout, giving his opponent little chance to build momentum.

His next match is against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-Chen. Shetty trails Chou 1-2 in their previous meetings, adding further importance to the recovery time available before the pre-quarterfinal contest.

Hooda’s route to the last 16 was considerably longer. The 25th-seeded Indian defeated Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 21-14, 20-22, 21-19 in a 79-minute contest. Hooda took the opening game 21-14, but Wong responded by edging the second 22-20 to force a decider.

The final game remained close, with neither player establishing a substantial lead. Hooda moved to 20-18 to earn two match points. Wong saved the first, but a cross-court shot went wide on the following rally to give Hooda the victory.

Hooda is due to face Indonesia’s World No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani in the Round of 16. Wardani won the pair’s only previous meeting at the 2025 Hylo Open.

Compressed schedule follows setback for Sen

The timetable concern emerged as India’s singles campaign had already suffered a second-round exit for Lakshya Sen. Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew beat Sen 21-12, 15-21, 21-14 in one hour and 10 minutes.

Sen began the first game with a 5-1 lead, but Loh answered with 10 consecutive points to take control before closing it out 21-12. Sen levelled the match by winning the second game 21-15, but Loh secured the deciding game 21-14.

For Shetty and Hooda, Saturday’s results ensured progression to the Round of 16, but also created the immediate challenge highlighted by Prannoy: preparing for another singles match later the same day. Their contrasting victories—one completed in 21 minutes and the other after 79—underlined the differing physical demands faced by the two Indian players before the evening session.