2 min readUpdated: Apr 11, 2026 12:21 PM IST
India’s latest badminton sensation Ayush Shetty matched majestically into the finals of the Badminton Asia Championships at Ningbo on Sunday, defeating World No 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 10-21, 21-19, 21-17 on Saturday.
It was his big booming smash that comes from near 7 feet vantage when he jumps that he summoned whenever things got tricky, and used it as an escape route to defeat one of the most consistent and controlled opponents on the circuit.
Kunlavut, a former World Champion, plays with immense control, has great footwork and a wide range of strokes. However he was often pinned to the back court by body attacks from Ayush, whose offensive intent goes beyond the smashes and into midcourt down hits.
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After losing the opener, Ayush played a roller coaster of a second set where he botched a 7 point lead, allowed the World No 1 to claw back. But on the crucial point to shrug off Kunlavut at 20-19, he brought out the big straight smash to deny the World No 1 a re-entry.
Having levelled the sets, Ayush went on a rampage of attacks from the midcourt to take a handy lead, and while Kunlavut never stopped trying, there were more than one instances when his efforts were in vain. Ayush managed to get the Chinese crowd whooping and gushing as his Viktor Axelsenesque attack brought down the to seed. At 20-14 in the second, he followed a jump smash with followup backhand scythe at the net, much like Kidambi Srikanth had back in 2014 to down Lin Dan and win China Open.
Dinesh Khanna remains India’s only singles champion at Asian Championship. Ayush with wins over No 7 Li Shifeng, No 4 Jonatan Christie and now No 1 Kunlavut looks primed for a sensational final on Sunday.
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