20-year-old Ayush Shetty enters semis, secures historic medal

Ayush Shetty assured himself of a men’s singles medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, on Friday. This comes eight years after HS Prannoy’s bronze in men’s singles.The 20-year-old Ayush ousted world No.4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 23-21, 21-17 to extend his giant-killing spree to enter the semifinals. This is his biggest scalp after his win over Asian Games gold medallist Li Shi Feng in the first round.That the 6ft 4 inch shuttler from Mangaluru is yet to lose a game this week is indicative of his excellent form.Interestingly, Irwansyah Adi Pratama, the Indonesian who is Ayush’s coach now, was guiding Christie a few months back.

Though a little sluggish in the first game, Ayush had a plan to tackle the former world No.2.Facing the experienced Indonesian for the first time, Ayush fought from 8-11, 11-14, 13-16 and saved two game points at 18-20. When it looked like Christie would run away with the first game, Ayush produced a jump smash to save the first game point. An excellent drop on the left corner pushed the game further. At 21-21, a rattled Christie made two unforced errors, hit one into the net and the next wide, much to the delight of Ayush.

The Indian was at his aggressive best in the second. He broke free from 9-9 with a four-point burst and then led 17-13. Executing several powerful smashes with ease, Ayush rattled Christie. Though the Indonesian reduced the gap to 17-18, Ayush secured three straight points to close out Christie. He played a calculated game, maintained a good length and hit deep to disturb the footwork of his opponent.In the semifinals, Ayush will face defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. The 2023 world champion defeated Weng Hong Yang of China 20-22, 21-9, 21-9.China’s Shi Yu Qi and Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen also reached the last-four stage. While Yu Qi defeated Kodai Naraoka of Japan 21-18, 21-18, Chou beat Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 16-21, 21-12, 21-17.