Ningbo (China), April 8 India's rising star Ayush Shetty stunned world No. 7 Li Shi Feng of China, while former World Champion PV Sindhu and veteran HS Prannoy advanced to the pre-quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Wednesday.
Shetty, the 2025 US Open champion, defeated the Chinese star Li 21-13, 21-16 in 51 minutes.
Despite Li's strong start in both games, the Indian youngster dominated the later stages to advance to the round of 16.
In the opening game, Ayush fought back early to level at 4-4, with Li holding a slight edge until 7-7. From there, Ayush overpowered the home favourite to take the game 21-13.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with Li pressing hard early on.
Ayush fought back to level the score multiple times and took control at 13-13, winning six straight points to close out the match 21-16. He will next face Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei.
Sindhu defeated Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching in women's singles 15-21, 21-11, 21-19 in 57 minutes.
She will next face world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the pre-quarterfinals, both having a 3-3 win-loss record in past matchups.
In men's singles, the seasoned Prannoy beat Nguyen Hai Dang of Vietnam 24-22, 21-12 in 47 minutes.
He will meet Hong Yang of China in the pre-quarterfinals after the latter received a walkover in the opening round.
Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Malvika Bansod, and Tanvi Sharma exited in the opening round.