Ayush Shetty Knocks Out World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi in BWF Worlds Thriller

Four months ago, Shi Yu Qi dismantled Ayush Shetty 21-8, 21-10 in the Badminton Asia Championships final.

On Monday night in New Delhi, Shetty dragged the world No. 1 into a decider, stared down his comeback and knocked the defending champion out of the BWF World Championships.

The 21-year-old Indian produced the biggest upset of the opening day at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, defeating the Chinese top seed 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in a pulsating men’s singles first-round contest.

It was Shetty’s first victory over Shi in four meetings and came on his World Championships debut, according to Reuters.

The setting made it sweeter. With a packed home crowd roaring him through every rally, the world No. 22 refused to be overawed by the reputation across the net.

Shetty attacked the opening game with conviction, taking the shuttle early, working sharp angles with his smash and forcing Shi into defensive lifts. His control at the net repeatedly denied the Chinese star the chance to dictate rallies.

The result was a commanding 21-14 first game.

Shi responded like a world champion. After the change of ends, Shetty struggled to control his cross-court clears and repeatedly pushed the shuttle long. The top seed seized the opening, quickened the exchanges and raced through the second game 21-13.

The decider became a test of nerve

Shetty surged to an 11-5 advantage at the interval, riding his attacking instincts and the noise sweeping through the stadium. Shi then began cutting into the lead, extending rallies and forcing the Indian to play closer to the lines.

At 20-19, the match had narrowed to a single point. Shetty held firm. The final rally triggered an explosion inside the arena as the young Indian completed a victory that turned an eagerly anticipated opening-round contest into the tournament’s first genuine shock.

The win also settled an immediate score. Shi had crushed Shetty 21-8, 21-10 in roughly 40 minutes in the Badminton Asia Championships final in Ningbo in April, as recorded by ESPN. That defeat had ended a historic campaign in which Shetty became the first Indian man in 61 years to reach the continental singles final.

Monday’s encounter could hardly have been more different. This time, Shetty did not allow Shi to pin him deep in the court or dominate the tempo. He trusted his defence when the rallies stretched, stayed aggressive whenever the shuttle sat up and, most importantly, remained composed when a five-time World Tour title winner came charging back.

The scalp carries considerable weight. Shi arrived in New Delhi as the tournament’s leading seed and reigning champion after claiming his maiden world crown in Paris in 2025. He won that final by beating Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 in 77 minutes, Reuters reported at the time.

Shetty, meanwhile, has been assembling a breakthrough run of his own. A World Junior Championships bronze medallist in 2023, he won the US Open in 2025 and followed it by reaching the Asian Championships final in 2026.

Defeating Shi on the sport’s biggest individual stage is the clearest sign yet that the lanky Indian is ready to trouble the elite, rather than merely chase them. Shetty now advances to the Round of 32 with the top seed removed from his section of the draw. The path will not suddenly become easy, but the tournament has already lost its defending champion, and India has found its first giant-killer.

India enjoyed further success elsewhere on the opening day. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu brushed aside Ireland’s Sophia Noble 21-7, 21-11 in the women’s singles, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 in women’s doubles.

But the night belonged to Shetty. In April, Shi gave him a lesson in a continental final. In August, before a delirious home crowd, the student sent the world champion home.

(With inputs from ANI)