The toughest possible opening challenge turned into the biggest upset of the opening day for India. On his World Championship debut, in front of a roaring home crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, 21-year-old Ayush Shetty produced a stunning performance to defeat defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in a thrilling one-hour-and-13-minute contest.
The atmosphere inside the stadium had been building throughout the day, but it reached another level when Shetty walked on court against Shi. The Indian fans knew exactly what was at stake. The world No. 22 had never beaten the Chinese star in their three previous meetings, while Shi entered the tournament as the defending world champion and the top-ranked player in the world.
But as Ayush said ahead of the tournament, ‘it’s just another game’ — and he proved it.
“Jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega” and “Ayush, Ayush” were the chants that echoed around the arena as the young Indian took the opening point and immediately showed that he was not going to be affected by the occasion.
Shetty raced to a 3-1 lead before Shi responded to make it 5-2. The Indian, however, maintained the intensity and moved 7-3 ahead before extending his advantage to 9-4. The intensity was extraordinary, with the home crowd reacting to every attacking shot and every long rally.
Shetty carried an 11-5 lead into the interval and looked completely in control. Shi, on the other hand, tried to fight his way back and reduced the deficit, but when the world No. 1 looked ready to make a comeback, Ayush raised his level again. He moved to 20-14 and calmly closed out the opening game 21-14 in just 21 minutes.
In the next game, Shi responded strongly as he took an early lead, but Ayush quickly levelled at 4-4. The contest became a close one, with Shi going 6-4 ahead before Ayush fought back to make it 7-7 and then edge ahead 8-7.
The defending champion, though, found momentum and regained the lead at 10-8, gradually stretching it to 15-10. Ayush fought hard and brought it back to 12-15, but this time the world No. 1 did not allow the Indian to complete another comeback. He took the second game 21-13 to force a decider.
The noise inside the stadium grew louder. The third game was an epic battle of fitness and belief. Ayush took the early points and, after a closely fought start, maintained an impressive 11-5 advantage at the interval.
The Indian was now just 10 points away from one of the biggest wins of his career.
He continued his brilliance after the break, moving 17-9 ahead. But Shi, the defending champion, refused to go quietly. The Chinese star produced a late surge, cutting the deficit to 11-17 and then 15-18.
Suddenly, the pressure was back on Ayush. But the young Indian showed remarkable composure. He reached 20-18 and stood just one point away from defeating the player he had failed to beat three times before. The Chinese saved one match point to make it 20-19, but Ayush did not stop. The next rally ended with the Indian sealing the decider 21-19.
The stadium exploded with joy after the win. On his World Championship debut and in front of his home crowd, Ayush had pulled off the biggest of upsets.
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