New Delhi [India], May 10 (ANI): India's challenge at the Taipei Open 2025 badminton tournament ended on a bitter note after Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda fell short in their semi-final fixtures in men's and women's singles, respectively, on Saturday.

In a tightly contested affair, the 20-year-old Ayush tested the top seed Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei to his limits but eventually succumbed to a 21-18, 21-17 defeat in a contest that lasted for 42 minutes.

Ayush, ranked 44th in the men's singles, led the opening game with a slender 18-17 advantage, but the seventh-ranked shuttler won four straight points and sealed the opening game in his favour. 8

The second game followed a similar pattern as the scoreboard stood level at 16-16. However, Chou once again upped the ante and won five out of the six points to confirm his berth in the final.

Earlier in the tournament, the young Indian sensation stunned third seed Lee Chia-hao in his opening clash and went on to knock out the former world number one Kidambi Srikanth in the round of 16. He continued his scorching form by ousting seventh seed Brian Yang of Canada in the quarter-finals.

In March, Ayush made it to the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters Super 300 after staging a massive upset and defeating the former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the round of 32.

In the women's singles event, Unnati Hooda's impressive run in the tournament ended following a defeat against the top seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan by 21-19, 21-11.

The 17-year-old ranked 53rd in the women's singles, enjoyed a healthy 18-15 lead in the opening game. However, she squandered the advantage as the world number eight turned the tide with her late surge.

In the second game, it was one-sided traffic as the Japanese shuttler dictated the terms of play and raced to victory to move to the final. (ANI)