New Delhi: India's Ayush Shetty described his stunning victory over world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi as the "top one" of his career, saying beating the defending champion on his World Championships debut at home made the achievement particularly special.
"I would like it as the top one. At home, World Championship debut, world number one, I think it's a special win and I'm super happy today," Ayush said after producing one of the biggest upsets of the opening day.
Although Ayush had lost all three of his earlier matches against Shi, including their most recent one in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships, he did have a clear tactical plan and carried it out under heavy pressure.
"Yeah, I think we analysed the matches well; tactically I was much better today. I think the last time we played, he outplayed me, but I was prepared for the game, and I think I was super prepared and happy," he said.
The Indian began strongly, securing a 3-0 lead and being ahead by 11 points at the interval. He kept up his intensity after the break and won the first game 21 to 14. In the second game, Shi reacted by entering into a series of rapid exchanges with Ayush and ultimately secured the advantage to win 21–13, thereby forcing a final match.
However, Ayush took the last game early on, moved ahead 6-3, extended his lead to 9-4 and had an impressive 11-5 advantage when the interval came. After the exchange of ends, it seemed that the Indian player had taken the lead with a score of 16-5.
But the world No. 1 would not give in and managed to make a comeback as Ayush started to feel the pressure of securing his biggest victory yet. Ayush eventually took a lead of 20 to 15, but Shi managed to save four match points. The Indian at last controlled himself to win the deciding point and thus achieved the upset.
When asked what was going on in his mind as Shi took on his comeback, Ayush admitted that he had become desperate to complete the match.
"Yeah, I think he was intriguing in his shots, but I think I was also a bit desperate to win it. I was a bit close to the finish line, and I think it was a bit of a mess-up on my side. Also, he's world number one; he's never going to give you easy points. And after 4-5 points, I took the risk in the end," he added. IANS
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