India’s P.V. Sindhu beat Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei (21-19, 21-14) to enter the round of 16 of the Asian Games 2026 women’s singles badminton event at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Saturday.
Pin-chian, ranked 17th in the world, started strongly, easing into a 9-6 lead in the opening game. But Sindhu clawed back into the contest with three straight points. The game hung in balance until the final stretch, when the Indian shuttler pushed home to go ahead in the tie.
Sindhu was far more dominant in the second game, gaining an early lead before driving home the advantage to win the game and the round.
The 31-year-old will now face Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan later on Saturday (6:30 PM IST). Sindhu’s best performance in the Asian Games is the silver medal she won in 2018 Jakarta.
Published on Sep 26, 2026
