After the heist on world No.1, Ayush Shetty wants to go deep in Worlds

When the draw for the BWF World Championship was out last week, the chatter was it had been unkind for Ayush Shetty – the great new Indian hope in men’s singles after Lakshya Sen. Now that he has scored a stunning upset over world No.1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the opening round on Monday, expectations of the six feet four-inch top gun going deep into the tournament has started rising.

After a day’s rest, 21-year-old Ayush is scheduled to meet Dumindu Abeywickrama of Sri Lanka in Round of 32 next on Wednesday. A world No.20 who had been training under Sagar Chopda in Badminton Centre of Excellence of Bengaluru – under the mentorship of Dronacharya Vimal Kumar – he looks the odds-on favourite against the Lankan ranked way below in BWF rankings at No.87.

As Ayush became the toast of the showpiece after his heist on Monday evening, coach Chopda was ecstatic about the way his ward unleashed a deceptive net flick for the winning point. ‘’I am extremely happy the way Ayush played that last shot. I mean, to play that at that moment speaks volumes of his talent.’’

Speaking at BAI’s YouTube channel, he said:  ‘’He (Ayush) has always been good at that shot. If you look throughout the match, he played at least three or four times, even on the first service receiving. In the third game, he started off with that shot and again in the third game, he played that one more time. So, he has always been good at that shot. It is something that as kids, maybe you pick it up. It's not that as coaches, you can teach them this.’’

‘’He used his net shots really well. From the back of the court, he was not in a hurry to hit those hard smashes. He has been very erratic with that shot - so the main thing that we told him was to expect high lifts from Shi. Don’t get hassled by taking that jump and hitting it. He used that really, really well. He mixed his clears because he was playing from the better side. So he used his clears and lifts very well, opening up the court. Overall, it was 10-on-10 in the first game.’’

 ‘’There was never an ounce of doubt in his shots. Coach Irwansyah has been helping him tactically and they had a long chat yesterday. If you also look at Ayush’s defence today, Shi is one of the best players in the world to have variations from everywhere. From the back of the court, from the net. So, Ayush was ready for it. He was really good with his defence,’’ Chopda explained.

The victory, meanwhile, must have tasted doubly sweet for Ayush as he was handed a harsh lesson by the world No 1 during the Asia Championships earlier this year.

Speaking to the media, the man of the moment said after the win: ‘’This victory has now blown the men’s singles draw wide open. With more players challenging for titles on the BWF World Tour this season, it is impossible to predict who'll take the coveted crown. I’m not thinking about other opponents. My focus will be on the next opponent. The men’s singles draw is really nowadays so I have to be at my best on all days.’’