Indian badminton icon backs Ayush Shetty to secure landmark feat at Asia Championships for first time since 1965

Former Indian shuttler Dinesh Khanna has shared his thoughts on Ayush Shetty reaching the men's singles final at the Badminton Asia Championship 2026. The veteran believes Shetty can achieve history for the country after he did the unthinkable in the semi-final stage.

At the Badminton Asia Championships 2026, Shetty brought down the top-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the semi-final. The Indian shuttler stunned the defending champion 10-21, 21-19, 21-17 in Ningbo, China and marched into the summit clash, becoming only the second Indian to do so.

Dinesh Khanna backs Ayush Shetty to make history

Khanna is the last Indian badminton player to have won gold in the 1965 edition of the Badminton Asia Championships. No Indian shuttler has come close to a gold since then, with Dinesh, Suresh Goel, Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Anup Sridhar and HS Prannoy winning bronze medals.

The veteran shuttler believes Shetty reaching the Badminton Asia Championships final is like history repeating itself. After winning the title in 1965, Dinesh has yearned to see another Indian shuttler reach the summit clash.

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Khanna further added that Shetty has the potential to end India's long wait for winning the championship and bringing it back to India.

"I must say that, in a way, it is a repeat of any second singles player from India entering the finals. In 1965, I was able to win this title, and I had been looking forward for another Indian to do a repeat. I am sure, and I have every hope that this long wait is going to end this time through Ayush Shetty," Dinesh Khanna said to Revsportz.

Ayush Shetty marches into the summit clash

In the men's singles semi-final between Shetty and Vitidsaran, the Thai shuttler looked in great tempo at the start as he reigned supreme over his Indian counterpart to win the first game.

Shetty eventually flipped the script in the second game and picked up an 11-4 lead at the interval. He went on to win the second game with a jump smash. He continued the momentum in the deciding game, picking a 21-17 lead to secure a decisive victory.

Shetty is on the verge of achieving something historic in the realm of Asian badminton. The Indian shuttler will be in action in the men's singles final against the second-seeded Shi Yu Qi on Sunday at 07:30 AM in Ningbo, China.