Asian Games badminton schedule draws angry complaints over player exhaustion

Badminton players at the Asian Games faced a gruelling schedule that forced athletes to play multiple matches in a single day, drawing sharp protests from teams. The tournament format required singles players to compete in both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 on the same day, while quarter-final matches followed within 12 hours. Tan Ning, the women's doubles world number one from China, stated in the mixed zone that the schedule was unfair. She noted that her team lodged an official complaint with the chief referee without success, though she claimed time changes were made after the Japan team complained. The heavy workload eliminated both Chinese men's singles shuttlers before the quarter-finals. Athletes from countries that participated in the team event, which concluded on a Thursday, suffered the most due to a severe lack of recovery time. In the Indian contingent, PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda both played three matches within 26 hours, including two encounters against top-ten opponents. This physical strain was compounded by a two-hour hotel commute. Indian male players Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, who featured in the team semi-finals, also exited the tournament early. Other nations adapted differently. Singapore chose not to field its squad in the team event, allowing a fresh Loh Kean Yew to defeat Sen in the third set, while Chou Tien Chen beat Ayush Shetty after sitting out the semi-finals. Indian singles player HS Prannoy posted on social media about the medal ceremony stretching until 11 pm on the night before doubles matches began. Meanwhile, Korean singles players avoided the heavy team event burden, arriving at the Games fresh and rested.