Unseeded Ayush Shetty (21) stunned world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 on his World Championships debut in Delhi
Shetty led big in the decider (17-6) before Shi fought back to 19-21, but held his nerve to close it out
He credited the home crowd and his coach, and next faces the Abeywickrama-Viale winner
Three times, Shi Yuqi had beaten Ayush Shetty, and three times the defending champion had walked away certain there would be a fourth. On Monday, inside a roaring Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the 21-year-old Indian tore that certainty apart.
Unseeded, uncapped at a World Championships, and facing the world No. 1 on his tournament debut, Shetty played the match of his life – 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, in 73 minutes that swung from dominant to desperate and back again, to hand Shi one of the most stunning defeats of his career.
Backed by a vocal home crowd, the world No. 22 never let the occasion overwhelm him. The three previous defeats had been a mixed bag, Shi edged him 21-19, 21-19 at the Indonesia Masters last year and needed three games and over an hour to get past him in the Malaysia Open round of 16 earlier this season.
Their most recent meeting was more lopsided, with Shi winning 21-8, 21-10 in the Badminton Asia Championships final in Ningbo in April. Monday's win showed how far Shetty has come since that defeat.
Game One, Shetty Takes Control Early
Shetty made the perfect start, racing to an 8-3 lead and stretching it to 13-6 before closing out the opener 21-14. His movement and smash were on point through the game, and he did not give Shi a sniff of a way back in.
Game Two, The Champion Strikes Back
Shi settled into the contest in the second game. The two were locked at 8-8 before the Chinese shuttler took charge, moving five points clear at 15-10 and stretching that to 17-13. He then won four points in a row to level the match at one game apiece, closing it out 21-13.
Game Three, A Lead Built, A Lead Defended
The decider opened at 3-3 before Shetty pulled away again, winning three straight points to lead 11-5 at the interval. He extended that cushion further, going up 17-6 at one stage.
Shi did not go away quietly, a mid-game drift made conditions tricky for both players, and a string of unforced errors let the Chinese shuttler claw his way back to 18-15 and then within two points at 19-21. But Shetty held his composure through classic Shi attack to seal the win.
Shi, for his part, felt the contest had been closer than the scoreline suggested. Attacking play from both sides had been fairly even through the match, he said, and neither player had found it easy to convert those attacks into points.
Shetty Reflects On A Career-Defining Night
Shetty did not hide how much the win meant to him. He called it a special victory and said he was pleased with how he had played through a match he always expected to be a tough physical and mental test.
"I think I'm feeling great. It's a really special win and I'm very happy with the play and everything. I knew it would be a really tough match and I had to work very hard. I was mentally prepared, physically as well," he said.
He admitted the finish tested his nerve, with Shi closing in on five match points and the momentum shifting in the Chinese player's favour.
"Because there were five match points, I was telling myself to calm down. I was getting a bit nervous, because Shi was really catching up and momentum was with him. Everything I did, he somehow managed to retrieve. So I was just telling myself to calm down and be aggressive," he added.
Going into the biggest match of his career against the world No. 1, Shetty said his coach's advice had been simple.
"He told me to enjoy every point," he said.
On his choice of ends and how he read the conditions, Shetty pointed to the slower drift affecting play less than he had anticipated.
"I think it was the better end, I would say. The drift today was really less compared to what I practiced. I think it was similar on both sides, so it didn't make much of a difference. But at some stage I was hitting a bit of unforced errors from the faster side," he said.
Asked about his defence, which repeatedly bailed him out during Shi's spells of pressure, Shetty credited his readiness to switch into defensive mode.
"Whenever I was getting caught out, I made sure I was ready to defend, and that managed to work really well. I think I was defending quite well," he said.
The home crowd's support, he added, had carried him through the toughest stretches of the match.
"Definitely, it's an energy booster for me, the way they were standing and supporting at the end, when I was getting really nervous. It was super happy seeing everyone cheer for me, and it gave me a lot of energy," he said.
Despite the scale of the win, Shetty was reluctant to look too far ahead or dwell on how rivals might view him differently now.
"I'm not thinking much about the opponents. I'm focusing on the next opponent at this point. Everyone is super tough, men's singles right now is really hard, and I have to be at my best on all days," he said.
On what a World Championships win on home soil meant to him, Shetty kept his answer grounded.
"I'm feeling great today, but I want to keep my head down and focus on the next round for now. I'm happy with the win today, but I want to go much further. Focus is on the next round," he said.
For all the weight of the win, Shetty's focus had already shifted forward. He will next face the winner of the match between Dumindu Abeywickrama and Adriano Viale.
