Ayush Shetty stuns World No.1 Shi Yuqi in biggest win of his career at Badminton World Championships

Ayush Shetty has announced himself on the biggest stage in style as the 21-year-old Indian pulled off a stunning three-game victory over world No.1 Shi Yuqi of China on the opening day of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. Shetty produced the biggest win of his young career and marched into the men's singles second round. He prevailed 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in a gripping contest that lasted 73 minutes. The Indian shuttler had the home crowd behind him and, despite a late scare in the deciding game, held his nerve when it mattered most to complete a memorable upset.

The victory is another major addition to Shetty's growing list of giant-killing performances. Earlier this year, he reached the men's singles final at the Badminton Asia Championships, becoming the first Indian man since 1965 to achieve the feat. His run in that tournament included victories over Li Shi Feng, Jonatan Christie and Kunlavut Vitidsarn. He also won the US Open Super 300 title in 2025.

There was little sign of nerves when Shetty stepped onto court against the world's top-ranked player. He raced into an 11-5 lead in the opening game, using his speed around the court, sharp retrievals and aggressive smashes to put Shi under immediate pressure.

The Chinese star struggled to find his rhythm as Shetty continued to attack. Several unforced errors from Shi, including shots into the net and wide of the lines, helped the Indian player maintain control. Shetty wrapped up the first game 21-14 and had the packed venue buzzing.

However, the world No.1 showed why he sits at the top of the rankings. Shi changed the tempo in the second game and began dragging Shetty into longer rallies. The Indian shuttler's error count started to rise as the Chinese shuttler used his experience to make him work for every point. Shi eventually took the second game 21-13, setting up a tense decider. With the match hanging in the balance, Shetty had to find a way to regain control without allowing the occasion to overwhelm him.

The Indian responded brilliantly at the start of the third game. Rather than forcing the pace, Shetty focused on keeping the shuttle in play and making Shi work for his points. The strategy paid off as Shetty moved 11-5 ahead at the interval and then stretched his advantage to 15-5. But the contest was far from over as Shi launched a remarkable fightback and capitalised on a string of errors from Shetty to cut the deficit to 20-15. The Chinese star then won four points in succession, leaving Shetty's lead at just 20-19. With the pressure at its peak, Shetty kept his composure and finally closed out the match to complete one of the biggest victories of his career.

Earlier,  The ninth-seeded Indian two-time Olympic medallist was in complete control for most of the contest. She used her experience and patient movement to force errors from Noble and quickly established an 11-2 lead in the opening game.

Noble showed more resistance in the second game and stayed close to Sindhu in the early stages. Sindhu stepped up after the interval and took control of the rallies with well-timed drops and smashes before finishing the match with a delicate backhand drop at the net. Sindhu will next face Canada's Wen Yu Zhang, who defeated Bulgaria's Stefani Stoeva 21-7, 21-19.