The Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) 2026 in Ningbo, China, has seen a mix of triumph and disappointment for regional stars. Malaysia's top men's doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, successfully cleared their opening hurdle with a straight-sets win. However, the day was marred by shock exits for world No. 7 Sze Fei and Izzuddin, as well as the pair of Wei Chong and Kai Wun, both of whom suffered early defeats to lower-ranked opponents. 

For India, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy survived grueling openers to advance to the pre-quarterfinals. Sindhu fought through a tough three-set match against Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching to set up a challenging clash today against second seed Wang Zhiyi. Additionally, young Indian talent Ayush Shetty provided the tournament's biggest upset so far by stunning the world No. 7, Li Shi Feng, in straight sets to move forward. 

Today's schedule features critical round of 16 matches, including Jonatan Christie facing Yudai Okimoto and An Se-young taking on Nguyễn Thùy Linh. Fans are also keeping a close eye on the mixed doubles, where Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei look to capitalize on the recent withdrawals of several top-seeded Chinese pairs due to ongoing regional tensions.