Smash and grab: Despite a tough field, Chinese stars plan for podium finish

Badminton at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is set to run from Sept 20–29 at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, where seven gold medals will be decided over the course of 10 days.

Chen Yufei is on a mission to avenge her women's singles loss to South Korea's An Se-young at the Hangzhou Games. [Photo/Xinhua]

Asia features most of the sport's elite players, making for a fiercely competitive field. The packed schedule, meanwhile, poses a huge physical test for athletes.

The team events open on Sept 20, with the men's and women's team champions crowned on Sept 24. Players who reach those team finals get little recovery time, as individual events kick off the very next day, beginning on Sept 25, and all five titles — men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles — will all be decided on Sept 29.

China edged India for men's team gold in Hangzhou three years ago, and the two teams are once again the ones to beat in Nagoya.

In men's singles, China fields world No 6 Shi Yuqi and defending champion Li Shifeng. But, at August's World Championships in New Delhi, Shi exited in the first round and Li fell in the round of 16, then both crashed out in the first round at the China Masters in early September, displaying a worrying dip in form.

India's 21-year-old Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, beat Shi on his home court in New Delhi, underlining India's growing strength in men's singles.

Fatigue and injury management have become urgent issues for China's coaching staff, and they add real uncertainty to the men's singles draw.

China is also sending newly crowned world champions Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, plus He Jiting and Liu Yi, with Liang and Wang expected to challenge for gold.

"Winning the world title has given us a lot more belief," said Liang. "We'll go into the Asian Games with real confidence."

He knows the challenge ahead: Asia is stacked with elite men's pairs, including South Korea's Kim Wonho and Seo Seung-jae, Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, and India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

"I still have some areas in my game to fine-tune," Liang added. "Mentally, I need to stay grounded and go after my opponents."

For China's women, it's about avenging back-to-back defeats to South Korea, which edged China in the women's team final at the Hangzhou Asian Games and at this year's Uber Cup.

In women's singles, China relies on world No 2 Wang Zhiyi and No 4 Chen Yufei. Chen lost to South Korean star An Se-young in the Hangzhou final, and whether she can turn the tables this time around is the big question hanging over the 28-year-old.

In women's doubles, China boasts the world's No 1 pairing in Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, plus world's fourth-ranked duo Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian. The gold is China's to lose — though South Korea's Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, the newly minted world champions, pose a serious threat.

In mixed doubles, the top-ranked duo of Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping looks the pair to beat. They defended their China Masters title in September with a 21-19, 21-16 win over Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing, and took silver at the World Championships in August. World No 3-ranked pair Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin boosts China's medal chances.