Asia Badminton Championship: Ayush Shetty reaches final after defeating world no-1 Vitidsarn

Ningbo (The Uttam Hindu News): Indian young badminton player Ayush Shetty has delivered a sensational performance and reached the final of the Asia Badminton Championship 2026 held in Ningbo.

In the semifinal at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center, he defeated world number 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a thrilling match with a scoreline of 10-21, 21-19, 21-17. The match lasted around 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Ayush, ranked 25th in the world, showed great fighting spirit. After losing the first game, he made a strong comeback in the next two games with patience, aggressive shot-making, and excellent control at the net.

Vitidsarn is the silver medalist of the Paris Olympics 2024, so this win is considered one of the biggest achievements of Ayush Shetty’s career so far.

With this victory, he became the first Indian men’s singles player after H. S. Prannoy in 2018 to secure a medal in this tournament. India’s last major success in the event came from the doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Ayush’s journey to the final has been impressive. In the quarterfinal, he defeated world number 4 Jonatan Christie 23-21, 21-17, marking his first win against him. Earlier, he also beat world number 7 Li Shifeng in straight games and later defeated Chou Tien-chen.

The US Open Super 300 champion has shown consistency and confidence throughout the tournament. However, India had mixed results overall, as PV Sindhu exited in the second round and Lakshya Sen lost in the first round.

Now, Ayush Shetty has a golden chance to create history by winning the final, which would be the biggest achievement of his career so far.