Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Ayush reaches quarters; Sindhu, Prannoy knocked out
Ayush Shetty registered another straight-games win to reach the quarterfinals but P. V. Sindhu and H. S. Prannoy were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, China, on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Ayush, the reigning U.S. Open champion followed his opening-round upset of World No. 7 Li Shi Feng of China with a convincing 21-16, 21-12 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, the player ranked 20th in the BWF Rankings, in 41 minutes.
World No. 25 Ayush will take on 2024 champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia for a place in the semifinals.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu went down 18-21, 8-21 to Chinese World No. 2 and two-time former winner Wang Zhi Yi in the Indian’s first event on the circuit in over two months.
READ | Ayush Shetty stuns World No. 7 Li Shi Feng to enter round of 16
Prannoy, returning after a shoulder injury, was ousted from the tournament after a 12-21, 19-21 loss to China’s Weng Hong Yang.
The mixed doubles duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also suffered a straight-games defeat.
Later in the day, Unnati Hooda, and the women’s doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will be in action.
How Ayush took down Chi Yu Jen
Ayush relied on his height to unleash steep smashes and maintained tight control at the net to dominate proceedings.
The opening game was closely fought early on, with the scores level at 4-4 before Chi moved ahead 10-6.
Ayush clawed his way back after the break, drawing level at 12-12 and then, taking control as Chi struggled with his length, committing a series of unforced errors.
The Indian surged to 18-14 and closed out the game comfortably.
In the second game, Ayush raced to a 4-0 lead before Chi briefly caught up.
Regaining rhythm, the Indian led 11-7 at the interval and never looked back, using aggressive returns and sharp net play to move to 16-9.
He soon wrapped up the match, sealing it with a sharp backhand at the net.
Indian Results (Round of 16)
Women’s Singles: [2] Wang Zhi Yi (CHN)bt P. V. Sindhu 21-18, 21-8
Men’s Singles: Ayush Shetty bt Chi Yu Jen (TPE) 21-16, 21-12; Weng Hong Yang (CHN) bt H. S. Prannoy 21-12, 21-19
Mixed Doubles: [4] Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei (MAS) bt Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto 21-13, 21-14
(With inputs from PTI)
Published on Apr 09, 2026