Aichi-Nagoya, 26 September (H.S.): Indian badminton star PV Sindhu advanced to the Round of 16 in the women’s singles competition at the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian 21-19, 21-14 in straight games at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Saturday.

Chiu, ranked 17th in the world, made a strong start to the opening game and established a 9-6 lead. Sindhu, however, fought back by winning three consecutive points to level the score. The two players then engaged in a closely contested battle, but Sindhu produced better play at the crucial moments to take the first game.

Sindhu maintained control from the beginning of the second game. After establishing an early lead, she continued to play aggressively and wrapped up the game 21-14 to seal the match in straight games.

The 31-year-old Sindhu will now face Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki in the Round of 16. The match is scheduled to be played on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. IST.

Sindhu’s best performance at the Asian Games came at the 2018 Jakarta Games, where she won the silver medal in the women’s singles event.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar