The 43rd edition of the Badminton Asia Championships is taking place this week in Ningbo, China, at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The tournament runs from April 7 to 12, carries a prize pool of $550,000, and is rated as a BWF Super 1000 event — among the highest tier in non-Olympic tournament badminton.
India arrived in Ningbo with a question hanging over the contingent: could anyone fill the absence of Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who withdrew due to Satwik's shoulder injury? The answer, so far, has come from an unexpected corner: 22-year-old Ayush Shetty from Mangaluru, ranked 25th in the world, is the last Indian standing — and he is in the semifinals.
Here is the full story of India's campaign.
https://twitter.com/BAI_Media/status/2042523390830088194
Day 1: Mixed Start
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila kept India's mixed doubles hopes alive in the first round. They beat Thailand's Phuwana Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard 21-14, 11-21, 21-15 in 51 minutes. After dropping the second game, they dominated the third from the halfway mark. They had been quarterfinal-ists at last year's edition, and the opener suggested they might go deep again.
India's other mixed doubles pairs had no such luck. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost to Malaysia 21-16, 21-15. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde were beaten 21-13, 21-19 by the world number 11 Malaysian pair of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie.
Day 2: Lakshya Falls, Ayush Rises
The biggest surprise of Day 2 came in men's singles. Lakshya Sen — who had been in outstanding form after a runner-up finish at the All England Open and was considered a genuine medal prospect here — went down 21-12, 21-19 to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, ranked 22nd in the world. After offering little resistance in the first game, he fought back in the second, drawing level at 16-16 and 19-19 before losing the last two points. He was out in the first round.
Kidambi Srikanth also fell — 18-21, 21-9, 21-19 to former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. He won the first game, then was outclassed in the second before fighting back in the third, only to fall short.
Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, announced himself. He beat Li Shi Feng — the reigning Asian Games champion and world number 7 — 21-something, 21-something in 51 minutes. After Li established control early in both games, Shetty drew level and then went on a run each time, finishing strongly. The win was considered one of the day's biggest upsets.
PV Sindhu also survived, though only just. She trailed Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia 15-21 in the first game before winning 21-11, 21-19 in a 45-minute battle. Her game looked rusty early and more confident toward the end.
HS Prannoy, returning from a shoulder injury, beat Vietnam's Nguyen Hai Dang 24-22, 21-12 to also advance.
Day 3: Sindhu and Prannoy Bow Out, Crasto-Kapila Fall
Day 3 was more difficult for India. PV Sindhu lost 18-21, 8-21 to China's Wang Zhiyi — the second seed — in 46 minutes. The second game was especially one-sided. It ends what had been a comeback to competitive action for Sindhu after months away.
HS Prannoy fell 12-21, 19-21 to China's Weng Hong Yang. Despite fighting in the second game after a poor first, he could not complete the comeback.
Crasto and Kapila also exited at the pre-quarterfinals, losing 13-21, 14-21 to Malaysia's fourth-seeded pair of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei — though notably, Toh was battling an abdominal strain throughout.
Ayush Shetty, however, kept going. He beat Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen 21-16, 21-12 in a commanding pre-quarterfinal win, reaching the last eight.
Day 4: Into the Semifinals
Shetty's quarterfinal opponent was Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, the third seed. The result — reported today on April 11 by ESPN India — is that Shetty beat Christie and is now in the semifinals.
He is only the second Indian man to reach the singles semifinals at this event in recent memory. He will face either a top Chinese player or another seeded Asian contender in today's semifinal.
His opponent has not been finalised in available reporting at the time of writing, but given the draw, he will likely face one of the Chinese contingent or a Thai player.
Where India Stands
India's entire campaign now rests on Ayush Shetty. He is doing it without the star-name recognition of Sindhu or the ranking of Lakshya Sen. His power game — using his height to generate steep smashes and maintaining tight net control — has been effective against every opponent he has faced. The fact that he already ended Li Shi Feng's campaign means he has beaten the best men's player he could have drawn.
The women's draw has been dominated by South Korea's An Se-Young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. The men's singles has seen a reshuffle with multiple seeds falling, which has opened the draw in Shetty's favour.
The finals are scheduled for April 12, i.e Tomorrow!
Sources:
- Olympics.com — Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 India result reports
- Outlook India — Ayush Shetty quarterfinal win, Sindhu and Prannoy exits
- ESPN India — Indian sports live blog April 11, Ayush Shetty into semifinals
- BWF official — tournament draw and seedings, Ningbo 2026
- Wikipedia — 2026 Badminton Asia Championships basic info and prize details