Teenager Ayush Shetty’s stunning upset of world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka capped a strong day for India at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 on Thursday, with Lakshya Sen also breaking a six-month quarterfinal drought and doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advancing to the last eight stages of the tournament.
The 19-year-old Shetty, a former World Junior Championships medalist, produced the biggest win of his young career, toppling Japanese ace Naraoka 21-19, 12-21, 21-14 in a tense pre-quarter final clash.
This result secured Shetty his maiden BWF World Tour Super 500 quarter-final appearance and also ensured India at least one semi-final berth, with the youngster now set to face compatriot Lakshya in the last eight.
Sen, ranked 20th, had earlier fought back from a game down to defeat compatriot HS Prannoy 15-21, 21-18, 21-10. The 23-year-old, who finished fourth at the Paris Olympics, has endured an inconsistent season marred by injuries, with his last significant results being semifinal runs at the All England Super 1000 and Macau Open Super 300.
Prannoy, 33, looked in control early, taking the first game comfortably and building a lead in the second. But Lakshya responded with sharper attacking play to level the contest before dominating the decider, capitalising on Prannoy’s errors to pull away from 9-13 and seal the victory.
Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, world No. 9 pair Satwik and Chirag battled back from a game down to overcome Thailand’s Chaloempon Sukphun and Nanthakarn Teeraratsakul 18-21, 21-15, 21-11. After regrouping in the second game, the Indians raced to a 7-2 lead in the decider and never looked back, completing the win in just over an hour.
The Indian pair will next meet Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap in the quarterfinals on Friday.