India’s Ayush Shetty produced the biggest win of his career, stunning World No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia to enter the men’s singles semi-finals at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Friday. The World No. 25 Indian kept Christie under constant pressure to script an impressive 23-21, 21-17 victory in the quarter-final.
Shetty led 5-3 early on in the first game, before Christie wrested control to lead 14-11. However, Shetty clawed things back at 18-18. The Indonesian earned two game points when Shetty hit long, but the Indian responded with a thunderous down-the-line smash and a sharp net winner to draw level and then earn a game point, which he converted.
In the second game, Shetty came out aggressively to lead 17-13. A brief dip allowed the Indonesian to close in at 17-18, but another steep smash and a long return gave Shetty three match points, and he sealed it when Christie found the net. Shetty will next face top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.
