Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Ayush Shetty stuns world no. 7, PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy also advance

BEIJING: India’s rising star Ayush Shetty, former World Champion P V Sindhu and HS Prannoy progressed to the pre-quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre in China, according to a release.

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.

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.

UPSET ALERT

Ayush Shetty Upsets WR 7 Li Shi Feng In Straight Games
21-13 , 21-16

Superb Win By Ayush
R16 vs Chi Yu Jen #BAC2026 pic.twitter.com/NjRolruoC8

— Badminton Media (@BadmintonMedia1) April 8, 2026

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.

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 faced an exit in their respective opening round matches. (ANI)