Indonesia Open badminton: Ayush Shetty scripts comeback win to reach pre-quarterfinals

It was a mixed day for India at the Indonesia Open 2026 as young shuttler Ayush Shetty recorded a stunning comeback victory while the star doubles pair of Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ended their campaign early due to injury.The 21-year-old Ayush, who is ranked 20th in the world, bounced back from a one-sided first match to beat China’s world number 15 Weng Hong Yang in a thrilling opening round clash. After losing the first game 8-21, Ayush showed great determination to win the next two games 22-20 and 21-15 to seal the victory in 66 minutes.Ayush was out of the contest after the opening game but defended strongly in the second. Trailing 11-15 at one stage, he produced a series of impressive rallies to tie the game and force a decider.The momentum stayed with the Indian in the third game as he took control and comfortably closed out the match. The Asian Badminton Championship silver medalist will now face Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in the pre-quarterfinals.India also found success in the mixed doubles, where Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde advanced to the second round with a convincing 21-14, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei rivals Po-Hsuan Yang and Ling Fang Hu.India’s top doubles pair of Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty experienced disappointment. Fresh from winning the Singapore Open last week, the duo had to retire from their opening round match after just seven minutes.The Indian pair were trailing 6-11 against Malaysians Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing when Satwik appeared to have a shoulder problem and signaled discomfort, forcing them to withdraw from the competition.In the men’s singles, experienced fighter HS Prannoy also bowed out in the first round. He lost a close three-game match to Ire Nhat Nguyen, losing 17-21, 21-16, 19-21, despite fighting hard to stay in the contest.