BENGALURU , AUG 17 : “August 17 is a bad day for Shi Yuqi.” Coach Vimal Kumar had asked Ayush Shetty to write down when he was preparing for his BWF World Championships debut in Bengaluru. It was a message that coach Vimal wanted to look at every day, as often as he would look into a mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that’s exactly what Ayush Shetty delivered to Shi Yuqi on Monday: a bad day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 21-year-old from Karkala in Karnataka announced his arrival at his maiden World Championships, dumping out the defending champion and World No. 1 Shi Yuqi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19. In a show of blistering big smashes and terrific defence, Ayush, buoyed by a vocal home crowd, pulled off the biggest win of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Ayush’s first win over Shi Yuqi after three successive defeats, including the crushing straight-game defeat in the final of the Asia Badminton Championships earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayush, who idolises Viktor Axelsen, came up with a complete game, timing his big smashes to perfection. Confident when playing against the drift, Ayush’s straight blocks to Shi’s cross-court smashes, followed by the big smashes, were a pattern – and a pattern that was so lovely to watch. Ayush has often spoken about learning composure from his idol, and that was on full display in Delhi on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The home crowd, a decent turnout for a Monday evening at the IGI Stadium, lost its voice as Ayush put on a show, showing why he is rated so highly in singles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayush, playing against the drift in the opening game, produced a masterclass in smashing. Standing at 6-foot-4, Ayush knocked the sails out of Shi in the opening game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayush wrapped up the opening game 21-14, but struggled a bit when the two shuttlers switched ends. Unable to find cross-court clears, Ayush kept pushing them long, allowing Shi to find his rhythm. The Chinese World No. 1 did not miss the opportunity to string points together and ran away with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in the decider, returning to the better end in the first half, Ayush began finding his range and those big smashes started flowing. It was a rampage from Ayush in the third game as he pummelled winners one after the other, making Shi look ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shi did not look like the World No. 1 on Monday. The big smashes kept hurting his confidence as Ayush made him look like a sparring partner in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April, when Ayush was beaten 8-21, 10-21, Shi did not offer him length, room or rhythm. On Monday, in front of his home crowd, in his maiden World Championships match, Ayush returned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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