It was not meant to be for Ayush Shetty. The World No. 22, who had been leading India’s charge at the BWF World Championships after his sensational win over World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, lost to familiar foe Alwi Farhan in the men’s singles Round of 16.
Ayush failed to produce the fireworks an expectant home crowd was hoping for at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday. Despite the home crowd rooting for him on every point, Ayush lost 19-21 and 11-21 in 45 minutes.
Ayush Shetty knew what Alwi Farhan brought to the court—lightning-quick movement and a potent attacking game. But when it mattered most, he was unable to blunt either.
On the eve of the contest, Ayush had spoken about Alwi’s speed. On Thursday, it was precisely that speed that proved his undoing.
Ayush, who reached the final of the Asian Badminton Championships earlier this year, was relatively fresh after a straightforward win over Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama on Wednesday. But he struggled to cope with Alwi’s pace, particularly in the second game.
It was a tough pill to swallow. Ayush made a bright start and then produced a strong comeback from 14-18 down to lead 19-18. But he could not close out the opening game.
Tentative. Tentative and indecisive. Those are perhaps the words that best reflected Ayush’s game on Thursday.
He had the tools to outgun Alwi, as he had done as recently as July at the China Open, but Ayush paid the price for not quickly gauging the feel of the court. With the drift in play, he became wary of lifting the shuttle long after a couple of his shots went beyond the baseline. He then restricted himself, leaving Alwi with comfortable lengths—woefully short lifts—to pounce on with his smashes.
The Indonesian repeatedly targeted Ayush’s right hip, unleashing body smashes at will.
Sagar Chopda, who was on the coaching bench alongside Irwansyah, told Ayush at the mid-game interval that Alwi was pushing him behind while waiting for him to come to the net. But the instructions did little to alter the course of the match.
Ayush was comfortably outclassed in the second game. There was no rhythm to his game as Alwi moved at the speed of sound around the court.
The Indonesian, who was formerly coached by Irwansyah, broke the hearts of the home fans, who had been expecting a deeper run from Ayush.
With Ayush’s defeat, India’s men’s singles campaign came to an end. Lakshya Sen, the country’s top-ranked shuttler, had lost to World No. 92 Garret Tan of the USA on Wednesday.
Alwi, meanwhile, is the lone men’s singles shuttler from Indonesia left in the draw after Jonathan Christie was knocked out by Rasmus Gemke earlier in the day.
– Ends
