Badminton Asia Championships Final Highlights: Heartbreak for Ayush Shetty as Shi Yuqi wins men's singles final 21-8, 21-10

That brings us to the end of our coverage of the Badminton Asia Championships men’s singles final between Shi Yuqi and Ayush Shetty. Thank you and goodbye!

Ayush, after all, is the first Indian to reach the final of the Badminton Asia Championships in more than six decades! Dinesh Khanna, who had won gold in 1965, was the last Indian to have gone this far in the continental championship!

What’s more, the 20-year-old stunned Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the world No 1 and defending champion, en route to the final!

The Chinese shuttler, who had won World Championships gold in Paris last year, had previously won Asian silver in Wuhan in 2019 and couple of bronze medals – in Wuhan 2017 and Ningbo 2024.

The Indian shuttler’s dream journey in the Badminton Asia Championships finally comes to an end on a heartbreaking note, as the world No 25 is overpowered by the world No 2 in straight games in the men’s singles final.

Shi clinches the championship with a powerful smash against Shetty in front of a vociferous home crowd!

Shi Yuqi is on the verge of clinching the men’s singles competition at the Badminton Asia Championship, leading by 10 points after taking his score to 20 in the second game! It’s been 9-2 in favour of the world No 2 since the halfway point!

Shi wins three consecutive points after the drinks break in Game 2, and is now seven points away from winning the Asian men’s singles title on home soil!

It is Shi Yuqi who is leading at the water break in Game 2 indeed! What a fightback by the Chinese shuttler, who was trailing 2-7 at one point!

What a fightback by Shi, catching up with Shetty at 8-8 after finding himself trailing the Indian by five points at one stage in Game 1! It will be his game to lose if he captures the lead at the halfway stage.

The rising Indian star is in the lead for the first time in the men’s singles final, opening up a five-point lead over Shi! Ayush reels off four consecutive points before the Chinese shuttler pulls one back.

Shi draws first blood in the second game with a smash, but Shetty fights back right away by going level in the next point.

The second half of Game 1 turns out to be a one-sided affair with the Chinese shuttler stretching his lead to 11 points and eventually taking Game 1 by a dominant margin. Shi is just a few shots away from being crowned Asian champion now.

The Chinese shuttler opens up a five-point lead over Shetty at the halfway stage of Game 1, and is currently a favourite to go 1-0 up in the men’s singles final.

Shi Yuqi collects three consecutive points before Ayush Shetty finally opens his account in the men’s singles final. It’s 5-5 between the two players since then.

The men’s singles final is underway at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, with Qi winning the first three consecutive points against Shetty!

Here’s how India’s Ayush Shetty progressed to the men’s singles final at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China:

Round of 32 – Defeated Li Shifeng 21-13 21-16

Round of 16 – Defeated Chi Yu-jen 21-16 21-12

Quarter-final – Defeated Jonatan Christie 23-21 21-17

Semi-final – Defeated Kunlavut Viditsarn 10-21 21-19 21-17

We had the medal ceremony taking place for the men’s doubles and now we are ready to begin the final. Ayush Shetty is chasing history in Ningbo today. Can he beat Shi Yu Qi to create history today?

Will Ayush Shetty break the 65-year old drought of India to get a gold at Badminton Asia Championships? We will get to know shortly:

The world champions are also the champions of Asia. The World No. 1 pair of Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae has defeated their Korean counterparts Kang Min Hyuk and KI Dong Ju in straight sets to earn a dominating straight games victory.

The World No. 1 pair of Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae clinched the first game and is now leading 13-8 in the second game. We are quickly moving towards the end of this clash here which will lead us to the men’s singles final where Ayush Shetty will be chasing history.

Things are moving quite quickly here at Court 1. The World No. 1 pair of Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae is dominating the young and upcoming pair of Kang Min Hyuk and KI Dong Ju. The first set is about to get over and then we can expect Ayush Shetty’s match at around 3.15 PM IST.

The 8th seed pair of Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min from China has won the Women’s doubles title at the Badminton Asia Championships. Their opponents could not carry on the game due to injury and that means we have another result here at Court 1.

PV Sindhu described Ayush Shetty as a “generational talent” after the 20-year-old defeated World No 1 to get into the final of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026.

The women’s doubles final of the Badminton Asia Championships is now underway. It is an all-Chinese final and the second match on this court. Remember, Ayush Shetty’s final is the fourth match at this same court.

There is a women’s doubles and a mixed doubles final remaining to take place on Court 1 before we get to see the men’s singles finale.

World No. 1 from South Korea An Se Young has won the women’s singles title by defeating World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China. It was a thrilling game but two more matches remain before we get to see Ayush Shetty’s final.

Ayush Shetty has been in sensational form at the Asian Championships so far. He has already defeated World No. 7 Li Shi Feng and World No. 4 Jonathan Christie in the earlier rounds apart from stunning the World No. 1 in semifinal. Can he keep his ‘giant slayer’ tag alive in the final as well?

The match was supposed to start at 1 PM IST but we will have to wait patiently for this game to begin. Court 1 is currently witnessing the women’s singles final where An Se Young is leading Wang Zhi Yi in the final set.

Shetty stunned the top-ranked badminton star in the world, Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, in the semifinal to storm in the final of the event. The 20-year-old defeated Vitidsarn 21-18, 18-21, 21-12 in a thrilling game to establish himself as a credible threat at the top level.

Ayush Shetty is just the second Indian men’s singles player, and third overall, to enter the Badminton Asia Championships final. If he wins, he will only be the second gold medallist from India after Dinesh Khanna’s 1961 gold.

The Ayush Shetty vs Shi Yu Qi, Badminton Asia Championship final will be live streamed on the Badminton Asia Facebook page and YouTube channel.