Badminton Asia C’ships: Ayush Shetty beats world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, assures medal with semi-final entry

Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty continued his dream run at the Badminton Asia Championships, pulling off another major upset to reach the semi-finals with a straight-games win over world No. 4 Jonatan Christie at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center on Friday.

The rising Indian registered a thrilling 23-21, 21-17 victory over the third seed and Olympian in their first-ever meeting, marking his maiden win against the Indonesian star.

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With this result, Ayush becomes the first Indian men’s singles player since HS Prannoy in 2018 to secure a medal at the continental event. It also ensures India’s first medal at the tournament since the men’s doubles gold won by Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in 2023.

Ayush will now face the winner of the semi-final clash between Paris 2024 silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn and China’s Weng Hongyang.

The opening game was a closely fought contest, with neither player able to break away. Christie held a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval and later surged ahead to 18-15, even earning a game point. However, Ayush showed remarkable composure under pressure, mounting a late comeback to force a tie-break and clinch the game 23-21.

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Ayush taking a slender 11-9 lead at the break. This time, the Indian maintained control in the latter stages, tightening his grip on the rally exchanges to seal the match in straight games and book his place in the last four.

Earlier in the tournament, Ayush had already turned heads by defeating world No. 7 and reigning Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng in the opening round, before overcoming Chi Yu Jen in the pre-quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu exited in the second round, while Lakshya Sen bowed out in the opening round.