Published: April 12, 2026 at 7:43 pm
Ayush Shetty’s dream run ended with a silver medal at the Badminton Asia Championships as he went down in a tough battle against World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi of China 21-8, 21-10 in men’s singles final on Sunday.
The twenty-year-old become the first Indian to win a silver at the event. Dinesh Khanna remains the only Indian to have won gold in the event in 1965.
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India also have six bronze medals in men’s singles at the continental meet, the most recent coming through HS Prannoy in 2018. The country’s last medal across all events came through Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who bagged the men’s doubles gold in 2023. The same year, Ayush Shetty won a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Championships.
Ayush failed to counter the experienced Chinese
Ayush couldn’t carry forward his momentum from previous rounds as the experienced Chinese proved too hard for the India youngster. Taking the lead early in Game 1, Shi allowed little space for Ayush to fight back.
Ayush Shetty went down in a tough battle against World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi of China 21-8, 21-10 in men’s singles final at the Badminton Asia Championships on Sunday. Pics: BAI
Ayush, who had also lost the opening game against world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn easily before pulling off a remarkable win, looked to bounce back early in the second game to lead 7-2.
However, Shi Yuqi flipped the momentum with five consecutive points and took an 11-8 lead at the interval.
The Chinese shuttler’s experience came to the fore, as he repeatedly caught his 10-year-younger opponent off guard with clever variations and completed the victory.
Ayush Shetty knocks out World No.1 and defending champion Kunlavat to enter final
Earlier in the tournament, Ayush had beaten world No. 1 and Paris 2024 silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semifinals. His giant-killing spree began in the opening round, where he stunned world No. 7 and reigning Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng of China.
He followed it up with a composed win over Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, ranked 20th, to book a quarterfinal berth, where he toppled world No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
The tournament proved the youngster’s potential and the bright future of Indian badminton as he posed serious threats to the world’s top players.
