Youngster Ayush Shetty continued to make inroads at the top level, assuring himself of a medal at the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2026 by beating 2024 champion Jonatan Christie.
The 20-year-old made light of the difference in experience and rankings (he is No.25, compared to Christie’s No.4), coming from behind in the opening game to take it 23-21 and then holding a lead for most of the second to close it out in straight games.
Shetty will face top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who needed three games to get past Weng Hong Yang.
The bottom half will see second seed Shi Yu Qi against Chou Tien Chen. Shi held off seventh seed Kodai Naraoka 21-18 21-18, while Chou had a battle on his hands against Loh Kean Yew, eventually coming through 16-21 21-12 21-17.
Good Day for Korea
Korea excelled on quarterfinals day. Mixed doubles qualifiers Kim Jae Hyeon/Jang Ha Jeong struck in the first match, taking down world champions Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei 21-19 21-17.
Then Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju fought past defending champions Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik in an enthralling encounter which went 83 minutes, the Koreans outlasting the Malaysians 21-19 26-28 21-13.
Malaysia had another disappointment, with women’s doubles second seeds Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan falling in straight games to Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min.
Ki and Kang better on the day.
Other Highlights
» Yuta Watanabe and Maya Taguchi, who have had a season that’s been mostly unremarkable at the highest level, celebrated their first big achievement together with a medal-winning performance. The Japanese duo beat Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang and will face off against Korean qualifiers Kim/Jang.
» In women’s singles, top seed An Se Young will be up against compatriot Sim Yu Jin, who beat veteran Nozomi Okuhara in straight games. The bottom half will see 2019 champion Akane Yamaguchi against 2024 champion Wang Zhi Yi.
→ Results
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