After a near-perfect week at Badminton Asia C’ships, Ayush hopes to take the next big step

Ayush Shetty capped a breakthrough week with a silver medal at the Badminton Asia Championships after going down 8-21, 10-21 to World No. 2 Shi Yuqi of China in the final in Ningbo on Sunday.

The 20-year-old thus became the first Indian men’s singles player in six decades to reach this stage of the continental meet. More significantly, he did so by beating three top-10 players in a week — a level of consistency no Indian man has achieved.