Ningbo, April 10 – Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty once again pulled off an upset at the Badminton Asia Championships, securing a spot in the semi-finals after defeating world No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center on Friday.
Ayush won against Christie with a score of 23-21, 21-17, becoming the first Indian men's singles badminton player since HS Prannoy in 2018 to win a medal at the continental competition. This was Ayush's first victory over Christie in their first encounter.
This will also be India's first medal at the Badminton Asia Championships since Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the men's doubles gold in 2023.
In the semi-finals, Ayush will face the winner of the match between Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who won silver at the Paris 2024 Games, and Weng Hongyang.
The first game was a close contest, with neither player able to gain a clear advantage. Christie led 11-10 at the break. After the resumption, Christie extended his lead to 18-15 and even earned a game point before Ayush mounted a comeback and forced the match into a tie-break.
The second game was equally intense, with Ayush leading 11-9 at the interval before tightening his grip and winning the game to secure his place in the semi-finals.
Earlier in the tournament, Ayush had stunned world No. 7 and reigning Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng in the opening round before defeating Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei to qualify for the quarter-finals.
PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, was eliminated in the second round, while Lakshya Sen also lost in the opening round.
