April 14 (Reuters) - Ayush Shetty’s silver medal at the 2026 Asia Championships has given Indian badminton a new men’s singles contender as the country begins to shape its plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In a cricket-dominated nation, badminton’s rise has largely been driven by women. Saina Nehwal’s bronze medal at the London Olympics, followed by Pusarla Sindhu’s back‑to‑back silver and bronze medals at Rio and Tokyo pushed the sport into the mainstream.
With Nehwal announcing her retirement in January and the 30‑year‑old Sindhu battling inconsistency, Indian badminton has been searching for new talent.
While 17‑year‑old Tanvi Sharma emerged as a prospect after winning silver at last year’s World Junior Championships, the men’s singles category has lacked a clear torchbearer to follow former world number one Kidambi Srikanth and Olympian Parupalli Kashyap.
"It's good for Indian badminton if there are more men's players performing,” Shetty told Reuters.
“Whenever we perform, we gain recognition and people watch more badminton. It would be really good if my silver medal can inspire more people to follow the sport."
The 20‑year‑old reached the Asia Championships final by upsetting defending champion and world number one Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand and world number four Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
Lakshya Sen won silver at the All England Open in March and the Indian men's team lifted the Thomas Cup trophy in 2022.
“I think Lakshya Sen had a fantastic tournament at All England... we are now trying our best to lead Indian badminton in the men's singles," Shetty said.
Shetty became only the seventh Indian to win a men’s singles medal at the Asian Championships, and the first since HS Prannoy’s bronze in 2018.
Preparation for the tournament also exposed Shetty to the elite end of the global game. He trained alongside Denmark’s two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.
“When you train alongside great players, you learn a lot of things, especially how they manage themselves off-the-court and on-the-court,” he said.
Shetty has his sights set on the August World Championships in New Delhi followed by the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
