Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda Reach Semi-Finals at Taipei Open 2025

Indian Shuttlers Shine at Taipei Open

Taipei [Taiwan], May 9: Young Indian badminton players Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda have advanced to the semi-finals of the Taipei Open 2025 tournament, as reported by a sports news outlet.

In the men's singles quarter-finals, Ayush Shetty triumphed over Canada’s seventh-seeded Brian Yang with scores of 16-21, 21-19, 21-14, in a match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.

The 20-year-old shuttler previously defeated former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth in the round of 16 and overcame third-seeded Lee Chia-hao from Chinese Taipei in his opening match.

This marks Ayush Shetty's second semi-final appearance this year, having previously reached the same stage at the Orleans Masters Super 300 in March, where he notably defeated former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the round of 32.

In the semi-finals, Shetty will face top-seed Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei, who won against Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia in his quarter-final match.

Ubaidillah had eliminated India’s Tharun Mannepalli in the second round on Thursday.

On the women's side, Unnati Hooda, currently ranked 53rd in women's singles, secured her place in the semi-finals by defeating world No. 65 Hung Yi-Ting from Chinese Taipei.

The 17-year-old Indian player took 52 minutes to win her quarter-final match with scores of 21-8, 19-21, 21-19. She will compete against top-seeded Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the semi-finals.

In the round of 16, Hooda had previously beaten world No. 99 Lin Sih-Yun from Chinese Taipei with a score of 21-12, 21-7.

Currently, Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda are the only Indian players remaining in the Taipei Open.