Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda Lose In Semifinal At Taipei Open

Rising shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda ended their impressive runs with semifinal finishes in the men's and women's singles respectively, bringing curtains down on India's campaign at the USD 240,000 BWF Taipei Open Super 300 in Taipei on Saturday. Ayush, 20, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Junior Championships, fought hard before going down 18-21, 17-21 to local favourite and world No. 7 Chou Tien Chen, a veteran of nearly two decades on the international circuit.

Earlier, Unnati, the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters winner, showed early promise but couldn't sustain the momentum, losing 19-21, 11-21 in 43 minutes to top seed and world No. 8 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan, the 2022 World Junior Champion.

Armed with a powerful smash and solid net play, Ayush had beaten top names including All England runner-up Lee Chia Hao, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, and Canada's Brian Yang in earlier rounds.