India’s Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma secured their places in the semi-finals of the US Open 2025 badminton tournament with commanding victories in their respective quarter-final matches on Friday, even as the country’s doubles campaign came to a halt.
Fourth seed Ayush Shetty, ranked 34th in the men’s singles, came from behind to defeat former junior world champion Kuo Kuan-lin of Chinese Taipei 22-20, 21-9 in a 38-minute encounter at the BWF Super 300 event. Trailing 19-16 in the opening game, the Indian youngster displayed resilience and tactical flair to edge past Kuo in a tight finish before sealing the second game with ease.
Shetty will next face a stern test against world No. 6 and top seed Chou Tien-chen, also of Chinese Taipei, in the semi-finals. The two last met in the semi-finals of the Taipei Open earlier this year, where Chou emerged victorious in straight games. Saturday’s clash will mark Shetty’s third semi-final appearance this season, having previously reached the last four at the Orleans Masters in March.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma, currently ranked 66th in women’s singles, delivered a composed performance to overcome Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan, ranked 50th, with a 21-13, 21-16 win in the quarter-finals. She will face a higher-ranked opponent in world No. 40 and seventh seed Polina Buhrova of Ukraine for a place in the final.
Also read: Tanvi Sharma, Ayush Shetty storm into US Open QF
However, India’s hopes in the doubles events were dashed. In men’s doubles, third seeds Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi were knocked out by the Chinese Taipei pairing of Chiang Chien-Wei and Wu Hsuan-yi in a straight-game defeat, 21-9, 21-19.
In the women’s doubles, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra exited the tournament after a 21-10, 21-14 loss to the American pair of Laura Lam and Allison Lee.
The mixed doubles challenge had already ended on Wednesday, with Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto suffering a first-round defeat, bringing a premature end to India’s campaign in that discipline.
Despite the setbacks in doubles, India’s singles contenders continue to show promise, with Shetty and Sharma keeping medal hopes alive as they head into their respective semi-finals.
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