Badminton: Ayush Shetty, Tanvi Sharma shine for India at US Open 2025
Shetty ends India’s BWF World Tour drought
Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty enjoyed his most memorable weekend as a professional badminton player by securing the title at the US Open Super 300 in Iowa, recording one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, according to all of the best online betting sites’ odds for the competition.
Ranked 34th in the world, Shetty delivered a stunning performance in the final of the tournament to overcome Canada’s Brian Yang, who is ranked one spot above him in the world standings, 21-18, 21-13, in a match that lasted just shy of an hour.
Not only did that result mark the 20-year-old’s third straight victory over Yang, but he achieved the feat after having also ousted top seed Chou Tien-chen in the final four and former junior world champion Kuo Kuan-lin in the quarter-finals.
The Karkala native’s title run was the first for an Indian badminton player on the 2025 BWF World Tour. Speaking in an interview following his victory, the rising Indian star said:
“It means a lot, it’s my first title in the senior circuit. So I’m really happy. There are a lot of positives to take away. I played some excellent badminton here and I’m looking forward to the Canada Open next week.”
Shetty’s win comes at a time when India’s top shuttlers have been struggling for positive results, with the likes of PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy all failing to secure a title in 2025. The 20-year-old’s previous best performances were semi-final appearances at the Orleans Masters 300 and Taipei Open earlier this year.
Sharma produces record-breaking run in Iowa
While Shetty will receive most of the headlines over the coming weeks, Tanvi Sharma also deserves plenty of credit for her performance at the 2025 US Open, where she reached the final of the competition before bowing out to world number 21 Beiwen Zhang.
The 16-year-old Indian shuttler pushed Zhang, who is 18 years her senior, to a three-set thriller 21-11, 16-21, 21-10. Sharma kicked off the competition with a massive victory, beating the second seed Nguyen Thuy Linh in the opening round before downing former junior world champ Pitchamon Opatniputh in round two.
The teenager proceeded to overcome Karupathevan Letshanaa and Polina Buhrova in the quarter and semi-finals, respectively, and in doing so, became the youngest Indian ever to reach a final on the BWF Tour.
Sharma’s victory at the US Open saw her move up 16 places in the world rankings, and she, along with Shetty, will return to action this week at the $240,000 Canada Open Super 300 in Markham.
