Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
“August 17 is a bad day for Shi Yuqi.” Coach Vimal Kumar had asked Ayush Shetty to write down when he was preparing for his BWF World Championships debut in Bengaluru. It was a message that coach Vimal wanted to look at every day, as often as he would look into a mirror.
And that’s exactly what Ayush Shetty delivered to Shi Yuqi on Monday: a bad day.
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The 21-year-old from Karkala in Karnataka announced his arrival at his maiden World Championships, dumping out the defending champion and World No. 1 Shi Yuqi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19. In a show of blistering big smashes and terrific defence, Ayush, buoyed by a vocal home crowd, pulled off the biggest win of his career.
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It was Ayush’s first win over Shi Yuqi after three successive defeats, including the crushing straight-game defeat in the final of the Asia Badminton Championships earlier this year.
Ayush, who idolises Viktor Axelsen, came up with a complete game, timing his big smashes to perfection. Confident when playing against the drift, Ayush’s straight blocks to Shi’s cross-court smashes, followed by the big smashes, were a pattern – and a pattern that was so lovely to watch. Ayush has often spoken about learning composure from his idol, and that was on full display in Delhi on Monday.
The home crowd, a decent turnout for a Monday evening at the IGI Stadium, lost its voice as Ayush put on a show, showing why he is rated so highly in singles.
Ayush, playing against the drift in the opening game, produced a masterclass in smashing. Standing at 6-foot-4, Ayush knocked the sails out of Shi in the opening game.
Ayush wrapped up the opening game 21-14, but struggled a bit when the two shuttlers switched ends. Unable to find cross-court clears, Ayush kept pushing them long, allowing Shi to find his rhythm. The Chinese World No. 1 did not miss the opportunity to string points together and ran away with it.
However, in the decider, returning to the better end in the first half, Ayush began finding his range and those big smashes started flowing. It was a rampage from Ayush in the third game as he pummelled winners one after the other, making Shi look ordinary.
Shi did not look like the World No. 1 on Monday. The big smashes kept hurting his confidence as Ayush made him look like a sparring partner in Bengaluru.
In April, when Ayush was beaten 8-21, 10-21, Shi did not offer him length, room or rhythm. On Monday, in front of his home crowd, in his maiden World Championships match, Ayush returned it.
Sweet revenge.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
