Ayush Shetty Pours His Blood & Sweat Into Ending Shi Yu Qi’s Title Defence At World Champs

Ayush Shetty beats World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi in a thrilling BWF World Championships match, overcoming injury and nerves for a historic victory.

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Ayush Shetty defeats Shi Yu Qi at World Champs.

Ends Shi Yu Qi’s title defense.

Ayush sustained injury, played with bloodstains.

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Ayush Shetty in action against Shi Yu Qi (Picture credit: BAI Media)

Star Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty was expectedly a bundle of nerves when top seed and defending champion at the BWF World Championships came close at 20-19 in the decider. The Indian was leading 17-7 at one point, but Shi sprinkled his magic on court, giving Ayush and the Indian supporters a massive scare, but the latter held his nerve to pull off a famous win against the World No. 1.

By the time Ayush could arrive for the media interactions, he was dripping in sweat and had bloodstains on his shorts. The 21-year-old had injured himself while he was leading 17-9 in the decider and had to get some treatment on court.

Momentum swung thereafter. Shi kept on winning points from there, moving to 11-18, 15-19 and then to a nerve-wracking 19-20, as the Indian audience were left gobsmacked and scared that Ayush would gift another match to Shi.

Ayush had faced Shi thrice before in his career and all of them resulted in defeats for the Indian. He was completely outplayed at the Asian Championships in April, stunned in a three-game encounter in January at the season-opening Malaysia Open and once at the Indonesia Masters in January 2025.

This time, Ayush was prepared for the Shi Yu Qi challenge. Practice, as we know, makes a man perfect, and so was the Indian shuttler.

It took Ayush, self-admittedly nervous, a forehand shot from close to the net towards the back side of Shi’s court to end the one-hour and 13-minute-long battle and give the Indian shuttler a long-awaited win.

“I was telling myself to stay calm because I was getting a little nervous. Shi was closing the gap, had the momentum and somehow managed to get through everything I threw at him. So I kept reminding myself to stay composed and continue being aggressive,” Ayush told the media after his match.

The 21-year-old will next take on Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama. The Sri Lankan had beaten Ayush during their only encounter in 2023, at the Bahrain International Challenge.

But Ayush has grown in stature over the past two-and-a-half years and is now the one who has ended Shi Yu Qi’s title defence. Does he have butterflies following the big win?

“Yeah, I am feeling great today, but I want to keep my head down and focus on the next round. I am happy with the win against Shi, but I want to go much further in the tournament. For now, though, the focus is on the next round,” Ayush said.

Ayush is now the talk of the town. He may have entered the contest as the underdog against the World No. 1, but his nervy yet defining win has captured the imagination of badminton fans across the nation and beyond.

Ayush literally poured blood and sweat to pull off the big win and now, India can hope big at the World Championships at home. Although early, one can always dream of a podium finish, isn’t it?

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