Orleans Masters: Ayush Shetty bows out in round of 16

Orleans [France], March 20 (ANI): Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty bowed out of the ongoing Orleans Open badminton tournament with a quarterfinal loss on Friday.
Shetty, 20, suffered a two-game defeat to Yudai Okimoto by 18-21, 9-21, as per ESPN.
The 2025 US Open champion is still searching for his first title of the year. He is yet to progress beyond the second round, a finish he achieved in the Malaysian Open this year, with the rest of his exits being in the first round.

However, there is still hope for India as there are three quarterfinal matches lined up further. In women's singles action, it will be a win-win situation as two compatriots, Isharani Baruah and Malvika Bansod, will be locking horns with each other. Bansod is yet to progress beyond round of 16 this year, which was her best finish attained during the Indian Open in Delhi back in January.
In the other women's singles quarterfinals, Tanvi Sharma will be battling Japan's Natsuki Nidaira. She will be aiming to seal her first quarterfinal spot in the 2026 calendar year after a string of four first-round exits.
In the men's doubles competition, the pairing of Hariharan Amasakarunan-MR Arjun will take on Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando-Bagas Maulana.
Bansod had made it to the quarterfinals by beating Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching by 24-22, 13-21.
The World Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi, who registered a notable win over second seed Supanida Katethong of Thailand on Day 1, set up an all-India round of 16 clash. She defeated fellow emerging youngster Anmol Kharb in straight games, 21-14, 21-17, progressing further to the quarterfinals.
In men's doubles, Hariharan and Arjun secured a convincing victory over Scotland's Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle. The Indian pair edged a closely fought opening game 26-24 before dominating the second 21-14, sealing the match in 35 minutes to enter the quarterfinals. (ANI)