Indian badminton player Ayush Shetty surprised everyone by defeating World No. 7 Li Shi Feng in straight games at the Badminton Asia Championships. Ayush’s victory secured his spot in the tournament’s second round after a 51-minute match at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center.
This win marks Ayush’s first encounter with the 2023 All England Open champion. His next challenge will be against world No. 20 Chi Yu Jen from Taipei as he aims for a place in the quarterfinals. Ayush has a history of beating higher-ranked opponents, as seen in his previous victory over world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen at the US Open.
India’s mixed doubles pair, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, also started their campaign successfully on Day 1 with a win over Thailand’s Phuwanat Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard. However, other Indian pairs faced tough competition, with Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh losing to Malaysia’s Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien, and Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani exiting the tournament against Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie.
Later in the day, top Indian singles players PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen are set to compete. Sindhu will face Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia in the round of 32, while other Indian women singles players like Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod, and Tanvi Sharma are also expected to kick off their campaigns.
In the men’s singles category, Thomas Cup winner H.S. Prannoy will begin his journey against World No. 62 Nguyen Hai Dang of Vietnam. Ayush Shetty, the young talent, will have a challenging match against fifth seed Li Shi Feng of China, the reigning 2023 All-England champion.
