Seventeen years after India last hosted the BWF World Championships, the homecoming could hardly have been scripted better.
Five Indian entries took to the courts on the opening day in New Delhi. Five came away with victories. But one of those wins towered above the rest.
Ayush Shetty, 21 and playing at his first World Championships, sent the home crowd into raptures by knocking out World No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in a pulsating three-game thriller at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
It was the sort of win that announces a player on the biggest stage. And Shetty did it against a man who had beaten him three times before. There was power in the 6-foot-4 Indian’s smashes, discipline in his defence and, when the match threatened to slip away from him in the decider, composure beyond his years.
On a day India went 5-0, Shetty’s victory was the one that made the Delhi crowd believe this World Championships could be special.
And there was a curious piece of history attached to it.
The last time an unseeded player knocked out the men’s singles World No. 1 in the opening round of the World Championships, that player went on to win the title. Loh Kean Yew did it in 2021, beating then-World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the first round before going all the way to the crown.
Okay, let’s not put that kind of pressure on Ayush Shetty just yet.
SHETTY STUNS SHI
Known for being a giant-killer, Ayush produced one of the finest controlled displays of his career to pull off the upset of the day in front of a roaring home crowd.
“I think I’m feeling great. I think it’s a really special win and, yeah, we’re happy with the way I played today,” he said after coming up with a mellowed celebration following his thrilling win, in which there was more relief than joy.
When training at Bengaluru’s Centre for Badminton Excellence, Ayush was told to write down a note: August 17 would be a bad day for Shi Yuqi.
And the 21-year-old delivered exactly that.
Ayush, carrying the baggage of a 0-3 record against Shi, came out all guns blazing after getting to begin the match from the end where he could hit against the drift. He was switched on from the word go, seizing the momentum by winning a 45-shot rally early on.
Then came those stinging smashes.
Lifting the shuttle high from the front of the court gave Ayush the room and time to unleash his smashes. When defending, he employed straight blocks to create room before coming back with those stinging blows.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Ayush has one of the best smashes on the circuit. But the young, soft-spoken Indian timed his lethal blows beautifully, using them not just to win points but to dictate the rhythm of the match and run away with the opening game.
However, after switching ends, Ayush opted to rein it in, knowing full well that he was hitting with the drift. He struggled to find his cross-court clears and was unable to find the backline on more than one occasion.
Shi, searching for any slight opening after the mauling in the opening game, was happy to seize the momentum and push the match into a decider.
CALM AMID CHAOS
Ayush returned to the favourable end of the court for the first half of the deciding game. It could easily have played on his mind and he could have overdone his aggression, but Ayush showed great composure, staying patient and unleashing his smashes only when he had the right openings.
The discipline, more than the sting in his smashes, helped him race into an 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval.
Shi looked jaded, and the run of points did not stop for Ayush as he raced to a 16-5 lead.
But the Chinese star, who won the title last year in Paris, did not throw in the towel. Making full use of Ayush’s jittery approach, Shi made a remarkable comeback, winning nine of the next 11 points.
At 15-18, the momentum was with Ayush even after the Indian shuttler called for a medical timeout in a bid to treat a minor injury and halt Shi’s momentum.
It became too close for comfort when Ayush was trailing 19-20, but the young Indian converted the match point and sealed the biggest win of his career, 21-14, 13-21, 21-19. It was his first victory over Shi after three successive defeats, including a crushing loss in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this year.
“I was telling myself to calm down. I was getting a bit nervous because he was really catching up and the momentum was with him. Everything I did, he somehow managed to retrieve it. So I think I was just saying to myself, ‘Calm, calm down,’ and, you know, be aggressive,” Ayush said, with relief written all over his face.
For a player who had spent months talking about learning composure from his idol Viktor Axelsen, it was a quality that came to the fore when it mattered most.
SINDHU STARTS STRONG
Earlier in the day, former champion PV Sindhu began her bid for a record sixth World Championships medal with a clinical victory over Ireland’s Sophia Noble.
The two-time Olympic medallist, who has five World Championships medals in her trophy cabinet, was playing a World Championships match at home for the first time in her career. She needed only 29 minutes to beat Noble 21-7, 21-11 and move into the second round.
Sindhu came out all guns blazing, opening up an 8-0 advantage before a long flat toss handed Noble her first point. She dominated the exchanges at the net and needed just 12 minutes to take the opening game.
The second game offered Noble a slightly better platform, with the Irishwoman playing from the favourable end. She used it to extend rallies and occasionally push Sindhu deep towards her forehand, making the Indian work harder for her points.
But Sindhu’s attacking game remained a class above. The 31-year-old never allowed Noble to build any real momentum, producing a decisive burst late in the game. She reeled off eight points in a row to turn a 12-10 lead into 20-10 before sealing victory with a deft net dribble on the next point.
Sindhu admitted that she felt the jitters before playing her first-round match, but remained calm and composed through the demolition job on Monday.
“Yeah, I think definitely that does happen to a lot of athletes, including me, where, you know, the first time you’re getting onto the court, you don’t know how the conditions are. You’re a bit jittery, you make a lot more mistakes, and then slowly, you get used to it,” Sindhu said.
“But I think today I started off well. I started off with a big lead, even though I was giving away two or three points here and there, but I still could maintain that lead. So, I think it was a good start for me and I was comfortable throughout. So, that was good.”
Ayush and Sindhu will return for their second-round matches on Wednesday.
Doubles deliver too
The perfect day had begun before either of India’s singles stars stepped on court.
The men’s doubles pairing of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan opened India’s account, advancing after Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds retired hurt with the Indians leading 21-16, 6-4.
There was good news in women’s doubles, too, as Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly cruised into the second round with a 21-9, 21-13 win over Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez.
Debutants Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi then saved three game points to beat Spain’s Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez 22-20, 21-14.
AN MANAGES INJURY
While the top seed in men’s singles was shown the door, women’s singles top seed and Olympic champion An Se-young managed her foot injury well to cruise into the second round.
The Korean star, 25, defeated Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova 21-14, 21-13 before making time to speak to the media about her improving English. She had been dealing with a lingering foot issue after withdrawing from the Japan Open last month, making her comfortable return to competitive action in Delhi another encouraging sign.
For An, winning is becoming routine. So is the search for another way to improve.
For India, though, Monday belonged to Shetty.
KEY RESULTS ON DAY 1 OF BWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DELHI
Men’s Singles
- Ayush Shetty (India) bt 1-Shi Yuqi (China) 21-14, 13-21, 21-19
- Yushi Tanaka (Japan) bt 16-Weng Hong Yang (China) 21-17, 21-14
- 4-Anders Antonsen (Denmark) bt Dicky Dwi Pangestu (Malaysia) 21-19, 21-17
- 10-Kodai Naraoka (Japan) bt Chi Yu Jen (Chinese Taipei) 21-16, 7-21, 21-12
Women’s Singles
- 1-An Se-young (Korea) bt Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bulgaria) 21-14, 21-13
- 5-Han Yue (China) bt Kirsty Gilmour (Scotland) 20-22, 21-13, 21-13
- 3-Wang Zhi Yi (China) bt Beiwen Zhang (USA) 21-12, 21-13
- 9-PV Sindhu (India) bt Sofia Noble (Ireland) 21-7, 21-11
Men’s Doubles
- MR Arjun/Hariharan Amsakarunan (India) bt Scott Guildea/Paul Reynolds (Ireland) 21-16, 6-4 (retired hurt)
- Alexander Dunn/Adam Pringle (Scotland) bt Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn/Worrapol Thongsa-Nga (Thailand) 21-10, 21-19
Women’s Doubles
- Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand (India) bt Paula Lopez/Lucia Rodriguez (Spain) 21-9, 21-13
- Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi (India) bt Nikol Carulla/Carmen Maria Jimenez (Spain) 22-20, 21-14
– Ends
