Ayush Shetty became the first Indian in 61 years to reach a singles final at the Badminton Asia Championships when he beat defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Ningbo today.
A win on Sunday would see Shetty emulate Dinesh Khanna, who became champion in 1965.
Shetty had lost his only previous encounter with Vitidsarn in straight games. The Thai started strong, winning the opening game comfortably, but Shetty turned it around in the second. Although Vitidsarn nearly stole the game from a big deficit, Shetty held his nerve, then kept a lead all through the third to carve out a memorable victory.
Shetty ends India’s six-decade wait.
On Sunday, Shetty will take on world champion Shi Yu Qi, who is looking for his first Asian Championships crown. The second seed enjoyed a breezy 21-9 21-13 result over Chou Tien Chen.
The women’s singles final will be a repeat of recent major finals, including the All England, with An Se Young looking for revenge against Wang Zhi Yi.
Wang, two-time winner of the Asian title, will seek to repeat her All England victory, while An will be motivated by the opportunity of winning her first Asian title. In the semifinals, An dismissed compatriot Sim Yu Jin 21-14 21-9 while Wang needed three games to get past 2019 champion Akane Yamaguchi.
Mixed doubles saw Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran suffer a heartbreak after winning a thriller over top seeds Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping. The Thais was an edge-of-the-seat contest over Feng/Huang, 19-21 21-14 22-20, but confirmed their unavailability for the final due to injury concerns.
Highlights
» Korean qualifiers Kim Jae Hyeon/Jang Ha Jeong achieved the sensational feat of winning the mixed doubles final after their semifinal victory over Yuta Watanabe/Maya Taguchi since their Thai opponents retired. The Koreans have played only five international tournaments, with their best being a title at the Malaysia International Series last year.
» Men’s doubles will feature an all-Korea clash between Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju, while women’s doubles will see an all-China battle between Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning and Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min.
→ Results
Korean qualifiers Kim (right) and Jang catch a lucky break.
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