Indian junior shuttlers Vratnath Hooda and Ayush Shetty battled hard till the Taipei Open Super 300 badminton tournament semi-finals but were eventually left to swallow defeat. Their men's and women's singles semi-final defeats ended India's tournament campaign for the season.
Ayush Shetty, 20, who had taken bronze at the 2023 World Junior Championships, met experienced Taiwanese player and world number 7 Chou Tien Chen in the semi-final of the men's singles. Ayush began the match aggressively from the start but lost 18-21, 17-21 to the home favorite. Though he had begun 8-4 up, Ayush succumbed to Chen's experience because of some preventable mistakes. He also dominated the second game for a short while but was beaten by Chou's consistent play.
But in women's singles, Vratsa Hooda had the top seeded and world number 8 Japanese player Tomoka Miyazaki. Vratsa played superbly well at the start of the game and then was 7-3 and then 11-6 up. But because of some errors in the second half and a flawless rally by her opponent, she lost 19-21, 11-21. In the second match, she lost her rhythm right from the start, and eventually Miyazaki won the match very comfortably. Aayush Shetty beat many big guns like All England runner-up Lee Chia Hao, former world number 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Canadian Brian Young in this tournament with her brilliant play. In the same vein, Vratsa Hooda too impressed all with her attacking play and tough mindset.
Though their performance gave hope for the future, inexperience and minor errors finally halted their semi-final campaign. However, the fighting spirit of these young players is a gigantic source of inspiration for the future of badminton in India.
