New Delhi, August 17: Asian championship silver medallist Ayush Shetty created the biggest upset of the BWF World Championships 2026 as he kept his nerves to upset top seed and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the first round at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here on Monday. Ayush’s victory over Yuqi ranks among the biggest first-round upsets in the history of the world championships as the Chinese becomes the first defending men’s singles champion to be knocked out in the opening round of the tournament.
The unseeded Ayush, who had a 0-3 head-to-head record against the Chinese before this match, managed to hold himself together despite his opponent saving four match points in a nerve-wracking third game to win 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in an hour and 13 minutes to send the sizeable crowd inside the stadium in a frantic celebration.
In the only other notable upset on the opening day, Japan’s Yushi Tanaka packed off Chinese 16th seed Weng Hong Yang 21-17, 21-14 to advance to the men’s singles second round.
Ayush’s victory meant that the hosts had a perfect opening day as all the five Indians in action on Monday advanced to the second round.
Men’s doubles combination of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan began India’s march with a 21-16, 6-4 (retd) win over Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand then did not break much sweat during the 21-9, 21-13 win over Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez in women’s doubles opening round.
Former world champion PV Sindhu sailed through her opening women’s singles match with a 21-7, 21-11 win over Sophia Noble of Ireland. The second women’s doubles combination of Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi then capped off the day with a 22-20, 21-14 win against Nikol Carulla/Carmen Maria Jimenez. The Indian youngsters produced a thrilling comeback in the opening game to save three game point from 17-20 down to clinch it 22-20.
But the day belonged to Ayush, who showed why he is rated so highly on the world stage. The 21-year-old began the match from the better side and quickly took control of the opening game as Shi made a flurry of errors while trying to adjust to the conditions. Ayush led 11-5 at the mid-game interval and then relied on his big smashes to wrap up the game.
The script turned on its head in the second game as Ayush now had to adjust to the conditions and Shi forced him into the decider.
Ayush showed tremendous maturity and patience at the start of the third game as he waited for the right opportunity to go for the kill. The former world junior bronze medallist changed ends at 11-5 and then raced to a 16-5 lead, bagging seven straight points.
But the Chinese top seed was not in a mood to give up. He began controlling the net better and the deceptive shots the net forced Ayush into making a few errors, allowing Shi to close the gap to three points at 18-15.
A strong defence helped Ayush find the point he needed and a down-the-line smash then gave him five match points. The top seed saved four of them but the home favourite converted the fifth with a deceptive flick to end Shi’s campaign.
Speaking about the last few points when Shi mounted a strong comeback, Ayush said, “I was telling myself to calm down. I was getting a bit nervous because he was really catching up. The momentum was with him and everything I did, he somehow managed to retrieve. So I think I was trying to calm down and you know, be aggressive.”
Earlier, Sindhu came out all guns blazing in the opening game against Noble, racing to a 8-0 lead before she sent a flat toss long to give her opponent a point. She controlled the net brilliantly to wrap up the opening game in just 12 minutes.
Noble had the advantage of playing from the better side in the second game and that allowed her to not only engage Sindhu into playing longer rallies but also score a few points by pushing the shuttle deeper to her opponent’s forehand.
But the superior attacking prowess of the 31-year-old Indian meant that she was never really under any pressure as she closed out the match, winning eight straight points to jump from 12-10 to 20-10 and then clinched the winner with a sharp net dribble a point later.
Speaking after the match, Sindhu said she was focused to understanding the conditions with harder battles up ahead.
“I think overall, playing for the first time, it was important for me to get used to the court conditions and see how it is. Today, I think that was the first thing for me that came into my mind. But I think I managed it well and the court conditions are pretty good,” said Sindhu, who will play Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang in the second round.
Important Results:
Men’s Singles: Ayush Shetty bt 1-Shi Yuqi (Chn) 21-14, 13-21, 21-19; Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) bt 16-Weng Hong Yang (Chn) 21-17, 21-14; 4-Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Dicky Dwi Pangestu (Azr) 21-19, 21-17; 10-Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-16, 7-21, 21-12
Women’s Singles: 1-An Se Young (Kor) bt Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bul) 21-14, 21-13; 5-Han Yue (Chi) bt Kirsty Gilmour (Sco) 20-22, 21-13, 21-13; 3-Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Beiwen Zhang (USA) 21-12, 21-13, 9-PV Sindhu bt Sofia Nobel (Ire) 21-
Men’s Doubles: MR Arjun/Hariharan Amsakarunan bt Scott Guildea/Paul Reynolds (Ire) 21-16, 6-4 (retd); Alexander Dunn/Adam Pringle (Sco) bt Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn/Worrapol Thongsa-Nga (Tha) 21-10, 21-19
Women’s Doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand bt Paula Lopez/Lucia Rodriguez (Esp) 21-9, 21-13; Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi bt Nikol Carulla/Carmen Maria Jimenez (Esp) 22-20, 21-14
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