New Delhi, May 10 -- 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 o...