Badminton Asia Championships: Ayush stuns China’s Li; Sindhu, Prannoy advance

Twenty-year-old Ayush Shetty stunned Asian Games gold medallist Li Shi Feng of China 21-13, 21-16 in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China on Wednesday.While HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu also won their first round matches, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth bowed out of the tournament. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Prannoy beat Nguyen Hai Dang of Hong Kong 24-22, 21-12 and Sindhu rallied to defeat Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia 15-21, 21-11, 21-19.Top-ranked Indian Lakshya suffered a 12-21, 19-21 loss to Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, his fourth defeat to Lee in six meetings.World No.25 Ayush was in full flow against Li. The Chinese shuttler started with a 3-0 lead but Ayush soon made it 11-9. After the break, Ayush won four consecutive points, involving his experienced rival in long rallies. The Indian took control by moving from 15-12 to 18-12 and closed out the game with a diving retrieve.Li started the second game with a 4-1 lead and was up 12-9. Ayush erased the deposit with a body smash, a crosscourt smash and excellent placement. From 13-13, Ayush scored five consecutive points. Li, who won silver and bronze at this meet in the last two years, used his experience to reduce the margin to 16-18. Ayush held his nerve. He played a long rally before winning it with an accurate down-the-line smash. Li misjudged the next one and Ayush closed the contest with a crosscourt smash.The lanky shuttler will face Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei in the prequarterfinals on Thursday. Prannoy will play Weng Hong Yang of China.