Rising Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the BWF World Championships, knocking out world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the opening round in New Delhi on Monday.
The 21-year-old defeated the defending champion 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in a thrilling 73-minute men’s singles round-of-64 encounter to register his first victory over the Chinese star in four meetings.
The win also avenged Shetty’s defeat to Shi in the final of the Asian Championships earlier this year.
“Tactically, I was much better today. I think today I was super prepared and really happy to pull it off,” Shetty said after the match.
Ayush had a solid start to the match and dominated the rally, showcasing quality defensive display to rattle Shi on his attacking front en route to clinching the first game.
As expected, Shi came right back in the second game while employing a different approach: keeping the shuttle near the net and taking down the body smash whenever he got a high lift.
In the final game, Ayush soared to a 17-6 lead. But then, and against the run of play, his composure evaporated as Shi began to erase the deficit.
Ayush then squandered multiple game points, much to the crowd’s disbelief.
With the game in the balance and Shi trailing by just 1 point (19-20), the unseeded Indian played a deceptive forehand-jab to wrong-foot the defending champion and seal what was a sensational victory.
Shetty admitted that the final stages became extremely tense as Shi continued to retrieve almost everything.
“He was somehow retrieving all the shots. But I was also a bit desperate to win it,” Shetty said after the match.
With Shi within one point at 19-20, Shetty kept his nerve and produced the decisive moment, using a deceptive forehand jab to wrong-foot the world No. 1 and seal a memorable victory.
“It was really nervy the way he was catching up,” Shetty said. “I managed to pull it off somehow, and it was a great relief at the last.”
The Indian credited the home crowd for helping him through the tense finish, saying their support gave him an extra burst of energy despite feeling tired.
“The crowd cheering like that gave me a lot of energy at the end,” he said.
For Shetty, the significance of the victory goes beyond simply advancing to the second round. Playing the world’s top-ranked player in his World Championships debut made it a particularly special moment.
“I would rank it as the top one at home. World Championship debut, world number one. It’s a special win,” Shetty said.
The Indian also pointed to the preparation behind his upset, revealing that he and his team had analysed their previous meetings closely after Shi had dominated their last encounter.
The decisive game was not without its complications. Shetty required a medical timeout after bleeding on his finger, but returned to complete the contest. He also acknowledged that he became too eager to finish the match when he held a substantial lead.
“I was really close to the finish line, and I think it was a bit of a match-off from my side,” he said.
Despite the late scare, Shetty found the courage to take a risk at 20-19, producing the deceptive shot that finally ended Shi’s resistance.
The victory puts Shetty into the men’s singles second round and gives India a major early highlight at the home World Championships.
Here are the results of the Indian shuttlers on the opening day:
MD: Hariharan Amsakarunan/ M.R Arjun bt. 21-16, 6-4r, Scott Guildea/Paul Reynolds (IRE)
WD: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand bt. 21-9, 21-13, Paula López/Lucía Rodríguez (ESP)
WS: PV Sindhu bt. 21-7, 21-11, Sophia Noble (IRE)
MS: Ayush Shetty bt. 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, Shi Yuqi (CHN)
WD: Kaivipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi bt. 22-20, 21-14 Nikol Carulla/Carmen Jiménez (ESP)
(With inputs from PTI)
