BATC 2026: India men lose 1-3 to Korea

Qingdao: India’s title defence in the women’s team event came to a disappointing end after a 0-3 loss to a second-string China, while the men’s side suffered a 1-3 defeat to Korea in the

quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships here on Friday.

Indian women had won a historic gold medal in the previous edition in 2024, but the absence of talismanic PV Sindhu due to a niggle made the task of defending the title a tough one.

World No. 42 Tanvi Sharma, who had led the charge in the opening singles with two wins earlier in the tournament, failed to provide a positive start,

losing 9-21 9-21 to world No. 10 Gao Fang Jie in a lopsided opener.

The 17-year-old Tanvi, a world junior championships silver medallist, struggled to match the pace and power of the Chinese shuttler throughout the contest.