Ayush Shetty Vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Rising Indian Star Stuns World No. 1 In Semis

Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty's gritty run continues as he defeated World no.1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a hard fought three-game battle to qualify for the Final of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, China.

The 20-year-old has showcased an outstanding level of consistency in the tournament, beating higher ranked players in all of the knockout games, including the likes of Jordan Christie (WR 5) and S.F Li (WR 7) in the last 16 and 8 rounds.

Ayush Shetty will now await the winner of the 2nd semi-final between Chinese Taipei's T.C. Chou and local boy Y.Q. Shi.

How Ayush Shetty's Dream Run Has Panned Out So Far?

Ayush Shetty’s journey to the Badminton Asia Championships final has been perhaps his best performance at the senior level so far in his career.

Entering the tournament as world no. 25, Shetty made his intentions clear in the very first round by crushing reigning Asian Games champion and world No. 7, Li Shifeng, in straight games (21-13, 21-16).

He followed this by sweeping aside Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen (21-16, 21-12) to set up a tough quarterfinal tie against world No. 4 Jonatan Christie.

In a 54-minute match, Ayush stunned the Indonesian 23-21, 21-17 and that made everyone believe that the Indian youngster has got something special.

His technique trademark inside out smashes and composed defence has been the key reasons behind his success.

However, the pinnacle of his dream run arrived in the semifinal today against Thai world no. 1, Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Shetty did lose the first game (21-10) by a heavy margin but he was adamant to fight back and stage a turnaround.

The 20-year-old then switched on and won back-to-back games (21-19, 21-1) to eliminate the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallist,

Having endured major disappointments in the Indonesia Masters, All England Open, Swiss Open and Orleans Masters, Ayush Shetty has truly done the unthinkable and he is now just another win away from Asian glory.

Taking down 3 top 10 players is no small feat but to do that in the span of 7 days, it requires a whole lot of determination and hunger.

India's New Hope

For the past few years, it will be fair to say that Lakshya Sen has carried the of Indian men’s singles department. In 2024, Sen famously became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of an Olympic edition.

However, he fell short in the semis against reigning champion Viktor Axelsen before also losing the Bronze medal match against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia.

But after Lakshya Sen's an early exit in Ningbo, Ayush Shetty remained India's sole hope and the youngster has indeed lived up to all expectations.

The former World Junior Bronze medallist has now become just the 2nd Indian to reached the Asian men's singles final.

During the 1965 edition, Dinesh Khanna had clinched gold, but since then, all the Indian representatives have finished 3rd. In the same edition, Suresh Goel had won Bronze.

In 1969, Khanna himself had finished third, followed by Prakash Padukone (1976), Pullela Gopichand (2000), Anup Sridhar (2007) and H.S. Prannoy (2018).

If Ayush Shetty wins the gold in the final, then he will join Dinesh Khanna as just the 2nd Indian to do so.

Badminton Asia Championships 2026: When And Where To Watch Ayush Shetty In The Final?

Ayush Shetty will take on either of T.C. Chou and Y.Q. Shi in the final on Sunday, April 12 on the Badminton Asia YouTube channel.