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 World no.9 Kodai Naraoka. (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.
