Aichi-Nagoya, 26 September (H.S.): Indian badminton player Unnati Hooda advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 21-14, 20-22, 21-19 in a thrilling contest on Saturday.

Ranked 25th in the world, Unnati made an impressive start and comfortably took the opening game 21-14. However, world No. 38 Wong mounted a strong comeback in the second game. The two players engaged in a closely fought battle before Wong edged ahead to win the game 22-20 and force a decider.

Unnati had established a healthy lead by the interval in the second game, but Wong found her rhythm after the change of ends. The Malaysian took a 17-16 lead and went on to win the game, levelling the match at 1-1.

The deciding game was tightly contested from the outset. Under pressure, Unnati displayed remarkable composure to move into a 20-18 lead and earn two match points. Wong saved one match point, but her cross-court shot on the following rally went wide.

Unnati subsequently closed out the deciding game 21-19 to seal the match and secure her place in the next round.

In the pre-quarterfinals, Unnati will face Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar