Ayush stuns World No. 7 Feng, Sindhu and Prannoy advance; Lakshya goes down to Yiu

India’s rising star Ayush Shetty, former World Champion PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy progressed to the pre-quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Championships at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center in China on Wednesday.

US Open 2025 champion Ayush Shetty produced a major upset, defeating World No. 7 and Hong Kong Open 2025 champion Li Shi Feng of China in straight games, 21-13, 21-16, in 51 minutes.

Ayush dominates the match

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.

Li Shi Feng of China is crestfallen after losing to Ayush Shetty. Pic: BWF

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Li pressing hard early on. Ayush fought back to level the score multiple times and took charge at 13-13, winning six straight points to close out the match 21-16. He will next face Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei.

PV Sindhu defeated Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in women’s singles 15-21, 21-11, 21-19 in 1 hour and 7 minutes. She will next face World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the pre-quarterfinals both having 3-3 win-loss in past meetups.

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In men’s singles, HS 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.

Lakshya Sen, the All-England Open runners-up and 12th in the men’s singles badminton rankings, lost 21-12, 21-19 against world No. 22 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China.

PV Sindhu rallied from one set down to get past Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 

After offering little resistance in the opening game, Lakshya Sen mounted a fightback in the second, drawing level at 16-16 and again at 19-all before ultimately falling short in the closing stages and crashing out in the first round.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth also exited early after failing to make the most of a promising start that saw him win the first game before eventually losing 18-21, 21-9, 21-19 against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Indian results: Men’s singles: Ayush Shetty beat Li Shifeng (CHN) 21-13, 21-16; Lakshya Sen lost to Lee Cheuk Yiu (HKG) 21-12, 21-19; Kidambi Srikanth lost to Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 18-21, 21-9, 21-19; HS Prannoy beat Nguyễn Hải Đăng (VIE) 24-22, 21-12.

Women’s singles: PV Sindhu beat Wong Ling Ching (MAS) 15-21, 21-11, 21-19; Malvika Bansod lost to Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA) 21-10, 21-19; Tanvi Sharma lost to Letshanaa Karupathevan (MAS) 21-19, 21-14.