Shuttler Ayush Shetty has stormed into the final of the Badminton Asia Championships, assuring at least a silver medal, with a remarkable three-game victory over top seed and defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn today. The world number 25 displayed strong performance and solid defence to register a comeback win of 10-21, 21-19, 21-17 against Vitidsarn, who is the Paris Olympic silver medallist and the 2023 world champion.

Ayush Shetty, who is also the US Open Super 300 champion, will face either Chinese Taipei’s fourth seed Chou Tien Chen or China’s second seed Shi Yu Qi in the final. With this achievement, Ayush has become the first Indian men’s singles player since Dinesh Khanna to reach the final of the tournament. Khanna remains the only Indian to have won the men’s singles gold at the continental championships, a feat he achieved in 1965. In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had won the title in 2023.