Orleans masters

World Champion Loh Kean Yew: India's 19-year-old Ayush Shetty caused a sensation in the men's singles section of the Orleans Masters badminton championship with a straight games victory over former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in a Round of 32 match here on Wednesday.

Ayush, the talented youngster from Karnataka, defeated Loh Kean Yew, who won the BWF World Championship in 2021, 21-17, 21-9 in a 36-minute clash in the BWF World Tour Super 300 event at the Palais des Sports here. Ayush, a right-handed player who won a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships in 2023, opened up a 4-1 lead in the opening game before Loh closed it to 4-3.

The Indian won four points in a row again, and though the Singapore shuttler levelled scores at 9-9 and 12-12 as the two players went neck-and-neck. But from 14-13, Ayush surged ahead to an 18-13 lead before closing out the game 21-17. Ayush dominated the second game, opening an 11-2 lead and maintaining the upper hand despite a fightback by the Singapore shuttler, and he went on to win the game 21-9 to clinch a memorable victory in their first career meeting.