Ayush Shetty storms into Badminton Asia Championships quarters, HS Prannoy crashes out

Ayush Shetty continued his impressive run at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026, defeating Chi Yu Jen to reach the men's singles quarterfinals in Ningbo. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu were both knocked out in the Round of 16, ending their campaigns.

In Short

• Ayush Shetty reached the quarterfinals defeating Chi Yu Jen
• Shetty will next face Jonatan Christie in the quarterfinals
• HS Prannoy lost to China’s Weng Hong Yang in Round of 16

Ayush Shetty continued his dream run at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026, securing a place in the men’s singles quarterfinals in Ningbo, China. On Thursday, April 9, the 20-year-old Indian, ranked World No. 25, produced a composed display to defeat Chinese Taipei’s World No. 20 Chi Yu Jen in straight games, 21-16, 21-12, in the Round of 16 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.

Ayush had already made headlines in the opening round when he stunned China’s Li Shi Feng, the World No. 7 and home favourite, 21-13, 21-16, in 51 minutes. That win cemented his growing reputation, and he backed it up with another clinical performance to reach the last eight of one of Asia’s premier individual events.

With back-to-back straight-game victories over higher-ranked opponents, Ayush now faces a tough challenge against Indonesia’s third seed Jonatan Christie in the quarterfinals, with a place in the semifinals up for grabs.

HS PRANNOY, PV SINDHU KNOCKED OUT

HS Prannoy was eliminated from the tournament in the Round of 16, ending his hopes of a deep run in one of Asia’s premier individual events. The 33yearold had advanced comfortably in the opening round with a 2422, 2112 win over Vietnam’s Nguyen Hai Dang, before facing China’s Weng Hong Yang in the second round. Despite a hard-fought contest, Prannoy went down 1221, 1921, falling short of reaching the quarterfinals.

Prannoy also expressed his frustration over a disputed call, writing, “It’s 2026, and I still can’t believe there is no Hawkeye on Court 2 for a Super 1000 event.”

Earlier in the day, PV Sindhu’s campaign at the championships came to an end. In the Round of 16, World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi defeated the two-time Olympic medallist in straight games, 2118, 218. Sindhu showed flashes of resistance in the opening game, staying close to Wang through the early and middle phases.

However, the Chinese shuttler pulled away at crucial moments, stringing together key points to take the first game. Despite remaining competitive initially, Sindhu struggled to convert important rallies in the second game, allowing Wang to dominate and secure a convincing straight-games victory.

On Wednesday, Lakshya Sen was knocked out in the opening round, losing in straight games, and India’s women’s singles stars Malvika Bansod and Tanvi Sharma also crashed out early after firstround defeats. Both Bansod and Sharma were eliminated in the opening round of the women’s singles at the continental event.

- Ends