Ayush enters quarterfinals; Sindhu, Prannoy lose
Young Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty entered the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships with an impressive straight-game win but the seasoned PV Sindhu was eliminated from the women’s event here on Thursday.
World number 25 Ayush, who is also the reigning US Open Super 300 champion, registered a 21-16, 21-12 victory over his world number 20 rival, Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, in a commanding display. He will next face third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
However, it was a disappointing day for the rest of the Indian contingent.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu went down 18-21, 8-21 to second seed Wang Zhiyi of China in a 46-minute last-16 stage match.
HS Prannoy, returning after a shoulder injury, fought hard but lost 12-21, 19-21 to China’s Weng Hong Yang.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after a 13-21, 14-21 defeat to fourth-seeded Malaysians Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.
Unnati Hooda, along with the women’s doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, will be in action later in the day.
Ayush relied on his height to unleash steep smashes and maintained tight control at the net to dominate proceedings.
The opening game was closely fought early on, with the scores level at 4-4 before Chi moved ahead 10-6.
Ayush clawed his way back after the break, drawing level at 12-12 and then taking control as Chi struggled with his length, committing a series of unforced errors.
The Indian surged to 18-14 and closed out the game comfortably.
In the second game, Ayush raced to a 4-0 lead before Chi briefly caught up.
Regaining rhythm, the Indian led 11-7 at the interval and never looked back, using aggressive returns and sharp net play to move to 16-9.
He soon wrapped up the match, sealing it with a sharp backhand at the net.
