Ayush Shetty stuns World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi at Worlds
India’s Ayush Shetty pulled off the biggest upset of his career by defeating world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in a thrilling opening-round contest at the BWF World Championships here on Monday, August 17, while two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu comfortably advanced to the second round.
The 21-year-old Shetty defeated defending champion Shi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 to secure a memorable win and continue his reputation as a giant-killer on the international circuit.
Shetty had earlier made headlines at the Badminton Asia Championships in April, becoming the first Indian men's singles player since 1965 to reach the final. On his way to the silver medal, he defeated Li Shi Feng, Jonatan Christie and Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
The Karnataka shuttler, who won the 2025 US Open Super 300, started strongly against Shi and raced to an 11-5 lead in the opening game, boosted by strong home support.
His court coverage, retrievals and attacking play kept Shi under pressure, while the Chinese committed several unforced errors by finding the net or sending shots wide. Shetty comfortably closed out the opening game.
Shi, however, responded in the second game by relying on his experience and forcing Shetty into long rallies. The Indian began making errors as the defending champion levelled the contest and forced a decider.
Shetty kept his composure in the final game and adopted a more controlled approach, concentrating on keeping the shuttle in play and forcing Shi into errors.
The strategy worked as Shetty led 11-5 at the final break and then extended his advantage to 15-5.
Shi launched a late comeback, capitalising on a series of errors from Shetty to cut the deficit to 20-15. The Chinese then won four consecutive points to make it 20-19, but Shetty held his nerve to win the next point and seal the biggest victory of his career.
Sindhu began her bid for a historic sixth World Championships medal with a comfortable 21-7, 21-11 victory over Ireland's Sophia Noble.
The ninth-seeded Indian needed just 29 minutes to complete the straight-game win.
Sindhu already has five World Championships medals two bronze, two silver and the 2019 gold. A semifinal appearance at the ongoing tournament would guarantee her at least a bronze and make her the first player in World Championships history to win six medals.
Only two other players have won five World Championships medals China's Lin Dan, who has five men's singles gold medals, and compatriot Zhao Yunlei, who has three mixed doubles and two women's doubles titles.
Sindhu dominated from the start against Noble, using her experience and patient game to force errors from her opponent. She raced to an 11-2 lead in the opening game before closing it out comfortably.
Noble offered greater resistance in the second game and stayed close to Sindhu before the Indian took an 11-8 lead at the interval.
Sindhu then stepped up the pressure after the break, controlling the rallies with drop shots and smashes before sealing the match with a backhand drop at the net.
Sindhu will next face Canada's Wen Yu Zhang, who defeated Bulgaria's Stefani Stoeva 21-7, 21-19.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also made a winning start, defeating Spain's Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 in women's doubles.
The 16th-seeded Indian pair will next face Laurem Lam and Allison Quynh Lee of the United States.
In men's doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun advanced to the second round after Scotland's Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds retired while trailing 21-16, 6-4.
They will next meet 15th seeds Min Hyuk Kang and Dong Ju Ki of South Korea, who received a first-round bye.
Fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also received a bye into the second round, where they will take on Scotland's Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle.
(Inputs from PTI)
