Ayush Shetty’s Stunning Shi Yuqi Upset at BWF World Championships 2026, Coach Reacts

New Delhi, August 18: Ayush Shetty produced one of the biggest upsets in the history of the BWF World Championships when the 21-year-old Indian stunned defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in the opening round in New Delhi.

Before the start of this highly anticipated Round of 64 contest, not many had given the Karnataka shuttler much of a chance, with the head-to-head record heavily stacked in favour of the Chinese. Ayush had lost all three of his previous meetings against Shi, the most recent being the Asian Championships final in Ningbo in April.

However, Ayush’s calm demeanour and clarity of thought appeared to work in his favour in what was arguably the most talked-about contest of the opening day. The sizeable crowd inside the arena also played its part, throwing its weight behind the Indian and, at times, sounding louder in support of Ayush than it had during ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu’s opening women’s singles match against Ireland’s Sophia Noble.

Sindhu, the former women’s singles world champion, sailed through her first-round encounter with a 21-7, 21-11 victory, but the crowd seemed to understand the magnitude of Ayush’s battle against the defending champion and world number one, offering the 21-year-old sustained support throughout the contest.

Ayush’s coach Sagar Chopda, who works with the youngster at the Centre for Badminton Excellence in Bengaluru alongside Vimal Kumar, spoke exclusively to myKhel about the landmark victory, revealing how Ayush’s improved fitness, defence and composure helped him finally cross the line against Shi. Here are the excerpts:

Q: Sagar, congratulations on Ayush’s terrific victory. Beating a world champion and the current world number one is no easy feat. How relieved are you after this win, and how does it set things up for Ayush for the rest of the tournament?

Sagar Chopda: I think at 21-19 in the third game, yes, we were very relieved. It was like, you know… because Ayush could have won that match at any score. If it was any other opponent, Ayush would have probably won maybe 21-10, 21-11.

But playing the world number one, Shi Yuqi is not the world number one just like that. He’s got 10 years of experience, more experience than Ayush. So, we were definitely relieved as soon as the match got over and it was in our favour.

Ayush is playing his first World Championships and playing the defending champion, the current world number one. He had played him three times in the past and had never crossed the line.

But for this tournament, Ayush has been working extremely hard. He’s gotten way fitter than what he was in the previous matches when he faced Shi Yuqi.

I would say maybe at the beginning of the season, at the Malaysia Open, Ayush played him in the first or second round and lost in three games. But Ayush played beautifully. In the third game, Ayush got tired and lost that match.

Here, that was not the case. He was exhausted at 17-7 in the third game, but somehow he managed to cross the line. So, definitely a big win for him, and moving forward in the tournament, this should give him a lot of confidence.

Q: Ayush looked in complete control after winning the first game, but Shi Yuqi fought back and forced a decider. How do you prepare a player like Ayush mentally when the match goes into a third game, especially against a world number one?

Sagar Chopda: I think any player playing at this stage, players of this calibre, they know they are always prepared for a long match. And Ayush was also mentally ready for it. In the second game, Ayush started playing from the faster side.

Actually, the lead wasn’t too big; it was 11-9 at the interval. But then Shi Yuqi played a few smart points and controlled the net really well, much better than Ayush did. And that is what made the difference in the second game. But in the third game, (we stuck to the same basics) as coaches, there is no (specific) strategy per se. It’s mainly that he was starting from the better side now.

And, Ayush was aware about it. He could play his lifts and clears more confidently. And after 4-3 at the beginning of the third game, he got those four-five quick points and that made the difference. So going into the interval, changing ends at 11-5 was something that worked in his favour.

Q: One of the biggest positives from Ayush’s performance was his defence and his recovery after Shi Yuqi’s smashes. Was that something you had specifically worked on before this match?

Sagar Chopda: Today his defence was the key, because of that, he won quite a few points, and strategically he was better prepared. He was ready for Shi Yuqi’s downward shots. And when he got to attack, he wasn’t very erratic. He was very calm and played those half smashes and stick smashes really, really well.

So he’s been working towards this, and defence is one area where he’s been putting in a lot of effort, which made a big difference today.

Q: Another noticeable change in today’s game was Ayush’s service. He was consciously trying to keep it very flat. Was that something you had discussed with him?

Sagar Chopda: That was also a technical thing that Ayush was aware of. In fact, there were quite a few times from the odd side of the court when Ayush served in the middle of the court, and for Shi Yuqi that was a perfect chance to control the net.

So we told him in between the match that he’ll have to keep varying the angles of his service, especially from the odd side. Which he did very smartly. So, yeah, that was something that we improvised in between the match.

Q: Ayush also repeatedly tried to play his shots diagonally from one side of the court. Was that because of the drift or was it a tactical variation?

Sagar Chopda: Not really. It was just that he was mixing his downward shots and his strokes. So that was just a variation that he kept using.

Q: There was also a point when Ayush received some medical attention. How is he now?

Sagar Chopda: He is fine. It was because of the dives on the court. He just had a little bit of a scar on his fingers, but nothing to worry about.

Q: Ayush will now face Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama in the Round of 32. He has looked quite good so far. How are you preparing Ayush mentally for the next challenge?

Sagar Chopda: All matches at the World Championships are important, we cannot take any match lightly. That is why, when someone asked us about the match against Alwi Farhan, that is something that we will take a call on after we finish the second match.

And Ayush has one day’s break tomorrow. So it will be extremely important for us to focus on his recovery because it was a long match today, probably over 70 minutes or something.

So it’s extremely important, and the physios and trainers will play a major role before we, as technical coaches, step in. Coach Irwansyah (Adi Pratama) will definitely talk to him and prepare him for the match. And all of us will give different inputs as coaches.

Vimal sir will be there. He’s also here and he was watching the match from the gallery. So, yeah, there’s a lot of support for him, and let’s just take one match at a time.

Q: We’ve seen significant growth in Indian badminton, with more academies and centres of excellence coming up. How do you see the development of badminton in India and across the Indian subcontinent, especially with players from countries like Sri Lanka now competing at the World Championships?

Sagar Chopda: Our standard of the game has really gone up. Even if you look at our national circuit, our All India tournaments are way tougher than some of the Challenge tournaments. So, you know, winning an All India tournament in itself is very creditable.

And Indian badminton in general has grown in the last few years. The number of players playing the sport has increased. Former players have started getting into coaching, you know, so everybody has their own academies. I mean, the next few years, we are only going to see a big boom in badminton.

And also, BWF has been putting in a lot of effort by spreading the game across various countries. So many initiatives have been taken by them.

So I’m sure that the sport will only keep growing. As you mentioned, players from Sri Lanka are playing the World Championships, which is very good for the sport in general, I would say.

And more and more, you know, in fact, prior to the World Championships, we had the Brazil team coming to the academy. The Bulgarian team, the Stoeva sisters, were training in Guwahati.

So players actually know that in India they will get a lot of sparring. And a lot of academies have that now.

Brazil is a lesser-known country for badminton, but their association was also supporting them so much before the World Championships, which is a big thing.

So a lot of efforts are being taken across the globe. And as a coach, I mean, we are very happy that the sport is increasing. So, yeah, thank you.

BWF World Championships: Ayush Shetty’s next challenge

Ayush will now face Dumindu Abeywickrama of Sri Lanka in the Round of 32. The Indian has a day’s break before his next match, giving his support team time to prioritise recovery after his 73-minute battle against Shi Yuqi.

The upset has already given Ayush the biggest win of his career, but Chopda’s message is clear: the Indian camp will take the tournament one match at a time.

For the 21-year-old, the challenge now is to carry the confidence, defensive solidity and physical resilience he showed against the world number one into the next round.