{"id":48211,"date":"2026-04-11T12:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=48211"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:23:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:53:36","slug":"ayush-shetty-rewrites-history-8th-indian-to-secure-medal-at-badminton-asia-championships-eyeing-finals-glory-like-dinesh-khanna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/badminton\/ayush-shetty-rewrites-history-8th-indian-to-secure-medal-at-badminton-asia-championships-eyeing-finals-glory-like-dinesh-khanna\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayush Shetty rewrites history: 8th Indian to secure medal at Badminton Asia Championships, eyeing finals glory like Dinesh Khanna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twenty-year-old Ayush Shetty has emerged as Indian badminton\u2019s latest sensation at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, China. The world No. 25 Karnataka shuttler<\/strong> stormed into the finals with a string of stunning upsets, guaranteeing India its eighth men\u2019s singles medal in the tournament\u2019s history and positioning himself as a strong contender to become only the second Indian ever to reach the final \u00a061 years after Dinesh Khanna\u2019s iconic achievement in 1965.<\/p>\n

Shetty kicked off his campaign with a commanding straight-games win over China\u2019s world No. 7 Li Shifeng<\/b> (21-13, 21-16). He followed it by cruising past Chinese Taipei\u2019s Chi Yu Jen (21-16, 21-12<\/b>) before delivering his biggest victory yet: a gritty 23-21, 21-17 triumph over third-seeded Indonesian Olympian Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This 54-minute battle highlighted Shetty\u2019s exceptional retrieving ability, powerful smashes, and composure under pressure. By reaching the last four, the former Junior World Championships bronze medallist has assured himself of at least a bronze India\u2019s first men\u2019s singles medal at the event since HS Prannoy\u2019s podium finish in 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making History: Joining the Legends<\/h3>\n

Shetty becomes the latest name in an elite list of Indian men\u2019s singles medalists at the Asia Championships. He follows trailblazers including Dinesh Khanna (gold 1965, bronze 1969), Suresh Goel, Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Anup Sridhar, and HS Prannoy<\/strong>. This also marks India\u2019s first overall medal at the championships since Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty\u2019s doubles gold in 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The feat carries special significance because Dinesh Khanna remains the only Indian to have contested and won \u00a0the men\u2019s singles final, claiming gold on home soil in Lucknow in 1965. No Indian has replicated that deep run in six decades. Shetty now stands just one win away from equalling that historic milestone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One Match Away from Immortal Glory<\/b><\/p>\n

On April 11, Shetty faces top-seeded Thai star Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals. A victory would not only secure silver or a shot at gold but also etch Shetty\u2019s name as the second Indian finalist in the tournament\u2019s long history.<\/p>\n

At just 20, this fearless performer \u00a0already a US Open champion \u00a0is signalling a new era for Indian badminton on the Asian stage. Whether he returns with bronze, silver, or gold, Ayush Shetty has already made history and inspired a generation. Indian badminton\u2019s bright new superstar has arrived, and the continent is watching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty-year-old Ayush Shetty has emerged as Indian badminton\u2019s latest sensation at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, China. The\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":502,"featured_media":48212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[5110,5101,1730,1944],"class_list":["post-48211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-badminton","tag-ayush-shetty","tag-badminton-asia-championship","tag-finals","tag-gold-medal"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/502"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48213,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48211\/revisions\/48213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}