Giant-killer Ayush Shetty registers biggest win of his career, stunning world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi
New Delhi: In a massive opening-round upset at the BWF World Championships, 21-year-old Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty stunned World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in a dramatic three-game thriller. Alongside Shetty’s milestone victory, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and several Indian doubles pairs also comfortably booked their spots in the second round on Monday.
Building on his breakout performance at the Badminton Asia Championships in April—where he bagged a silver medal after taking down Li Shi Feng, Jonatan Christie, and Kunlavut Vitidsarn—Shetty added top-seeded Shi to his growing list of high-profile scalps. The 2025 US Open Super 300 champion ground out a 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 victory over the defending champion in a tense first-round battle that went down to the wire.
Spurred on by home support, the Karnataka shuttler bolted out of the gate with crisp retrievals and clinical smashes, building an 11-5 cushion before pocketing the opening game as Shi struggled with unforced errors. Although the Chinese veteran rallied to claim the second game by dragging Shetty into grueling rallies, the young Indian regained his composure in the decider. Shetty raced to an 11-5 break lead and extended it to 15-5 before a late charge by Shi saw the gap narrow from 20-15 to 20-19. Holding his nerves under extreme pressure, Shetty secured the final point to seal the biggest win of his nascent career.
Earlier in the day, ninth-seeded PV Sindhu launched her campaign for a historic sixth World Championships medal with a dominant 21-7, 21-11 victory over Ireland’s Sophia Noble in just 29 minutes. A semifinal finish at this marquee event would guarantee Sindhu at least a bronze medal, making her the first player in BWF World Championships history to win six medals. She currently shares the record of five medals with China’s Lin Dan and Zhao Yunlei.
Sindhu dictated play from the baseline, building an early 11-2 lead in the first game before taking it comfortably. Despite brief resistance from Noble early in the second game, Sindhu relied on precise drop shots and powerful smashes to pull away after the mid-game break.
"I started off well, with a big lead. I did give 2-3 points here an there but I was able to maintain the lead. It was a good start for me and I was comfortable throughout," Sindhu said after the match. "In the first half of the second game I was trying a bit of my drops and half smashes which were going a little bit out. But it is fine to try out things when you are leading," she added.
Sindhu will next play Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang, who defeated Bulgaria's Stefani Stoeva 21-7, 21-19.
India enjoyed further success in the doubles fixtures. Commonwealth Games bronze-medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand dispatched Spain's Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 in the women's doubles to set up a second-round tie against 16th seeds Laurem Lam and Allison Quynh Lee of the United States. In the same draw, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi also progressed after defeating Spain's Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez 22-20, 21-14. They will next meet Bulgaria's ninth-seeded Stoeva sisters, Gabriela and Stefani.
In the men's doubles category, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun advanced after their Irish opponents, Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds, retired mid-match while trailing 21-16, 6-4. The Indian duo faces South Korea's 15th seeds Min Hyuk Kang and Dong Ju Ki in the next round. Meanwhile, India's star men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded fifth, received a first-round bye and will open their tournament campaign against Scotland's Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle. (PTI)