Badminton
Hong Kong Open: Ayush Shetty beats World No. 9 Naraoka; to face Lakshya Sen in quarters
The men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also moved to the quarterfinals.
Ayush Shetty stunned the Olympic medalist Lee Zii Jia. (Photo credit: IANS)
Ayush Shetty, the former world junior championships medalist, stunned the world no.9 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open 2025 on Thursday.
Shetty used his aggressive play to breach the solid defensive gameplay of Kodai and claimed a tight three-game (21-19, 12-21, 21-14) victory, advancing to his maiden BWF World Tour Super 500 quarter-finals.
This victory also secured at least one semi-final spot for India, as Shetty will compete in an all-Indian quarter-final against Lakshya Sen on Friday.
Sen also had a solid outing as he came back from a game behind to topple the experienced compatriot HS Prannoy 15-21, 21-18, 21-10 in the Round of 16. He reached the quarter-finals of a BWF Super 500 or higher ranked tournament after six months.
Lakshya versus Prannoy is turning into a regular fixture on the world tour. This marked their ninth clash in the past three years, with Lakshya holding a 6-3 edge in the head-to-head record.
Meanwhile, the men's doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag, fresh from their second World Championships medal, had another tiring three-game encounter in the second round.
The duo registered a hard-fought 21-18, 15-21, 21-11 win against the Thailand pair of Peerathcai Sukphun and Pakkapn Teeraratsaku to reach the quarter-finals.
