PV Sindhu to pair up with Tanisha Crasto in Asian Games 2026: How many times has Sindhu played doubles?

FILE PHOTO: Sindhu and Crasto in action during the Badminton World Championships earlier this year. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

India will face Japan in the badminton women’s team quarterfinals at the ongoing Asian Games 2026, and the leading the charge on Tuesday will be veteran P. V. Sindhu.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and an Asiad silver medallist in singles, will open the last-eight clash against familiar foe Akane Yamaguchi. However in a rare occurrence, the Indian could be seen in action in doubles.

If the tie goes down to the wire till the fifth and final match, Sindhu will be pairing up with Tanisha Crasto against Japan’s Rin Uesaka and Kie Nakanishi, as per the official pairings shown on the Asian Games website on Monday.

How many times has Sindhu played doubles?

If one looks at Sindhu’s player profile on the Badminton World Federation’s website, they will find out that the the 31-year-old has played four doubles matches in her career so far.

All of these matches have come not on the BWF Tour, but during team competitions.

For instance earlier this year, she paired up with Crasto at the Uber Cup and won both of the matches. In the first, Danish pair of Alexandra Boje and Christine Busch retired after leading the match 21-19, 14-17. In the second, the Indians beat Ukraine’s Sofiia Lavrova and Mariia Stoliarenko 21-18, 21-15.

Previously, Sindhu has also paired up with Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy, both at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in 2024 and 2018 respectively. In those fixtures, too, Sindhu was on the winning side.