New Delhi: The last time Ayush Shetty was up against Shi Yu Qi, he was rendered clueless. In a contest that lasted only 42 minutes at the Asia Championships in April, Shetty could only win 18 points, extending the head-to-head in favour of the Chinese to 3-0. The overwhelming feeling was that the World No. 22 wasn't allowed to play his usual powerful, smash-laden game.
"Shi Yu Qi in the first round is better than him in the later round," said legendary Pullela Gopichand when the draw was made. "With his big smash, I think Ayush is definitely going to be quite a threat. I do believe he has a very good chance," he continued.
On Monday, in front of a partisan crowd, Shetty proved him right in sensational fashion. The Indian produced stuff of dreams to beat the top seed and defending BWF World Championships winner 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
In what was billed as the biggest match of the day and the first round, playing in his maiden World Championships, Shetty timed his smashes to perfection and his lifts with absolute precision. In tricky conditions, with both sides of the court behaving differently, the two-time Worlds medallist had his smashes blocked dutifully and struggled against the Karnataka native's aggressive display.
With the duo splitting games, the physical aspect of Shetty's game was tested in the 73-minute match. But perhaps more than that, it was his mental fortitude that came to the fore. Having built an 11-5 lead in the decider, which was then extended to 16-5, Shetty rode a comeback wave from the Chinese shuttler. Shi Yu Qi won 10 of the next 12 points to bring the deficit down to just three points.
"I was telling myself to calm down. I was getting a bit nervous because he was really catching up and the momentum was with him. And everything I did, he somehow managed to retrieve it. So I was just telling myself to calm down and be aggressive," explained Shetty later. The feeling on the other end was one of confidence, with the drift coming to the rescue as well. The nerves from the Indian also played into Yu Qi's hands. A simple put-away was thrown into the net. A deep return was left alone, which ended up landing in.
Little by little, the five match points at 20-15 became just one. On his fifth match point, Shetty cleverly used his wrist to leave Yu Qi stranded, sending the shuttle away from his reach and the crowd into absolute delirium.
Easy win for PV Sindhu, India go 5-0 on Day 1 While Ayush Shetty was the star attraction of the day, the rest of the Indian contingent, too, made a flawless start at the prestigious competition. PV Sindhu romped past Sophia Noble 21-7, 21-11 in 29 minutes, while the doubles pairings of Hariharan Amsakarunan-MR Arjun, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Pullela Gopichand and Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi made it into their respective next rounds.
"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 next.
