Men’s badminton team beat Bangladesh to enter Asiad quarters

The Indian men’s badminton team blanked Bangladesh 3-0 to enter the quarterfinals of the Asian Games here on Monday.

The trio of Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and K Srikkanth did not drop a single game in a domineering performance to set up a clash with hosts Japan on Tuesday.

The women’s team will also be playing Japan in the last-eight stage. Lakshya was the first to take the court on Monday, up against Ibn Ayman Jaman, and it took him less than half an hour to clinch a 21-4 21-12 win, which set the tone for India. Next up was Ayush Shetty against Gourab Singh and he too got the job done in 25 minutes, closing it 21-4 21-13 in another facile win for the country.

Srikanth then made sure that the doubles matches need not take place as he romped to a 21-15 21-9 triumph over Jumar Al Amin in a 23-minute contest.

Lakshya said the match may have been a lopsided but was important in the larger scheme of things.

“It was important for me to get to know the conditions. Yeah, on paper it was not a very tough match, but the first match can be very tricky. So I just came in with the approach to just get a good start and then find my rhythm and adjust to the court. Once I knew I was winning the match, it was more about getting to know the court better,” he said.