Asian Games badminton: India beat Japan 3-0 to assure men's team medal

Lakshya Sen's stirring comeback set the tone as India outclassed hosts Japan 3-0 in the men's badminton team quarterfinals at the Asian Games here on Tuesday, assuring themselves of a medal.

The Indian men's team, silver medallists at the previous edition, produced a dominant display to seal their place in the semifinals.

Lakshya, who had endured a string of early exits coming into the Games, gave India the lead with a remarkable fightback against world No. 7 and two-time world championships silver-medallist Kodai Naraoka.

The 25-year-old from Almora lost the opening game and trailed 14-19 in the decider before reeling off seven consecutive points to prevail 11-21, 21-5, 21-19.

The first doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then extended India's lead, defeating former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 24-22.

Ayush Shetty, a finalist at the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year, completed the 3-0 victory with a 21-10, 21-19 win over world No. 16 Koki Watanabe.

India will face the winner of the quarterfinal between defending champions China and Korea in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Lakshya's comeback

The build-up to the Games had been difficult for Lakshya, who made an early exit from the home World Championships after losing to American Garrett Tan, then ranked world No. 92.

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

Against Naraoka, who had beaten him in four of their previous five meetings, Lakshya struggled in the opening game, with the drift in the hall also affecting his play.

He surrendered the game but responded emphatically after a pep talk from chief coach Pullela Gopichand and a change of ends.

Lakshya dominated the second game, repeatedly targeting Naraoka's backhand with smashes and racing to an 11-2 lead. He maintained control to move 16-3 ahead as Naraoka struggled to keep his shots inside the court.

The Japanese player took an 11-6 lead at the interval in the decider and later extended it to 16-10. Lakshya stayed in the rallies, waiting for an opportunity to turn the contest around.

Naraoka moved 19-14 ahead after two unforced errors from Lakshya, but the Indian immediately changed the momentum, winning four straight points as his opponent began making mistakes under pressure.

Lakshya then produced two precise returns to the back line to earn match point. Naraoka sent his next shot into the net, completing the Indian's comeback and giving the team a crucial opening win.