Ayush Shetty was denied a fairytale ending by China’s Shi Yuqi at the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 as the Indian lost 8-21, 10-21 in 42 minutes to the home favourite in the final in Ningbo on Sunday, thus finishing with a silver medal.

World No. 2 Yuqi dominated the majority of the match, stretching his head-to-head advantage over the 20-year-old Indian to 3-0. The Chinese shuttler also bagged his maiden gold at the continental event, having previously won three bronze medals.

Barring the loss in the summit clash, it was a memorable week for World No. 25 Ayush who became the seventh Indian to win a men’s singles medal at the event after Dinesh Khanna (gold in 1965 and bronze in 1969), Suresh Goel (bronze in 1965), Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1976), Pullela Gopichand (bronze in 2000), Anup Sridhar (bronze in 2007) and H. S. Prannoy (bronze in 2018).

Ayush, the 2023 BWF World Junior Championships bronze medallist, had reached the final by stunning defending champion and World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 10-21, 21-19, 21-17 in the semifinals.

Earlier, Ayush, the reigning U.S. Open Champion, had taken down World No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the quarterfinals, World No. 20 Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16, and World No. 7 Li Shi Feng of China in the first round.

Published on Apr 12, 2026