Ayush Shetty Vs Shi Yu Qi, Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Indian Prodigy’s Historic Run Ends With Silver

Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty finished runner-up at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 after a straight-games defeat to world No. 2 Shi Yu Qi in the men’s singles final in Ningbo, China, on Sunday.

The 20-year-old from Karnataka lost 8-21, 10-21 in 41 minutes to the home favourite, continuing India’s 61-year-long wait for a men’s singles gold in the tournament.

Shi Yu Qi Controls Final

Shi Yu Qi imposed himself against Shetty from the start, dictating rallies and forcing early forecourt exchanges. The Chinese veteran used his attacking variations to prevent Shetty from finding any sort of rhythm, and quickly moved 4-0 ahead.

Unforced errors crept into Shetty’s play, with the player hitting the net on more than one occasion. Shi capitalised with drop shots and cross-court placements to take an 11-6 lead at the interval. Then, two down-the-line smashes earned Shi game points before the opener ended with another error from the Indian.

Comeback Denied In Second Game

Shetty attempted a comeback in the second game and moved to a 3-1 lead with an aggressive straight smash and some good retrievals. An on-the-line winner confirmed by Hawk-Eye pushed him to 7-2.

However, Shi swung the momentum soon, levelling at 7-7 as he took advantage of Shetty’s errors. A tight backline return and successive mistakes from the Indian allowed Shi to regain control and lead 11-8 at the mid-game interval.

From there, the Chinese veteran stretched the lead to 13-8 and then 15-9, using several powerful smashes to keep his opponent under pressure. Shi moved to 17-9 and soon earned match points with a sharp cross-court winner, before sealing the match with a cramped return.

Breakthrough Campaign For Ayush Shetty

Despite the one-sided loss in the final, the unseeded Indian had a stunning run. He became only the second Indian, after Dinesh Khanna, to reach the final. The latter remains the only Indian men’s singles champion, winning the title in 1965.

Shetty, world No. 25, had arrived in the final after defeating some big names, including world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, and world No. 7 Li Shi Feng.

However, he had to settle for silver after a tough outing against Shi, who stretched his head-to-head record against Shetty to 3-0. The Chinese shuttler had previously beaten Shetty at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 earlier this year and the Indonesia Masters last season.

(With PTI Inputs)