Ayush Shetty defeated 21-8, 21-10 Shi Yuqi after a sensational week at BAC | Badminton News

4 min readUpdated: Apr 12, 2026 06:50 PM One of the harshest realisations for Ayush Shetty amidst all the elation of a fantastic week will be that big tournament finals, like the Badminton Asia Championships, don’t come along every now and then. Or that his 21-8, 21-10 demolition Shi Yuqi needed more resance on his part.
The Chinese World champion, who first reached the BAC final in 2019, had to wait seven years to get there again and finally win, at 30. A pandemic, a year-long soft-ban for discipline, two Olympic exits, and a video clip of a nasty toe-bler that he showed the world on TV scandalising his federation, featured in an eventful period before he got a second chance, converting this one.
Ayush’s new training buddy, PV Sindhu, could tell him similar stuff about Olympic finals – stars just don’t align that often even if you start at 20-21.
Ayush’s clump of unforced errors in the first game of the final might get glossed over because he’s had a sensational week. But making that chance count mattered plenty, and just reaching the final could never be a reason to be content, just because he’s only 20.
Shi Yuqi is perhaps China’s most complete and classical player in men’s singles since Lin Dan. The fluidity in his movement, his anticipation and clean stroke-making make him difficult to bully with power. He retrieves smoothly and has a dependable no-frills smash-kill that works on placement and angles.
Ayush also lapsed into tactical anarchy himself – letting go of the discipline he had kept through the week. Maybe, he was exhausted or nervous, maybe he believed he had come far enough, or more likely, maybe Shi Yuqi crowded him with precision, with 90 percent of his winners coming straight as arrows, unafraid of battling in the middle of the court.
Ayush trailed 0-4 at the start when the Chinese send three body smashes, all parried Ayush, and the fourth that went to the flanks while he was reeling from the attack.Story continues below this ad
Error-prone
But a whole lot of blame lay at Ayush’ door. Once he smashed so far wide, the shuttle went well beyond the sideline. His lifts kept landing long as he seemed in a daze. The experienced Chinese, a decade older than the Indian and waited years for his first World title, was gliding around the court, and controlling the tempo and orientation of rallies, as Ayush fell behind 8-19.
Two Shi Yuqi smashes towards the end had Ayush nowhere in the frame, and he shanked the last shuttle of the game so far wide, the body language was a giveaway.
Still, he had fought back from 21-10 in the semis, and took a 7-2 lead in the second. But the Chinese had no intention of blinking or allowing himself to be razed down. He pulled five points back with patience and smarts, and that seemed to boggle Ayush, who once more resumed his wild, erratic smashing. It was possibly the worst execution of the cliched advice of, ‘Just go out there, play freely and enjoy the occasion.’ Ayush wasn’t lacking in effort, but looked tight and error-prone.
At 8-13 came the longest rally, in which the Chinese prevailed. Out of desperation, he raised his pace when he fell back 9-16 but the rigour to build the rhythm was gone, and he did the classic big attacker’s thing of trying to hit his way out, spraying many in the process. He was diving in defence alright, but not setting up his attack.
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A fight that broke out in the stands over Shi Yuqi’s flung sweat-soaked shirt lasted longer than any tug of war on the court. A fifth straight good match turned out to be too big a task for the debutant.
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Shivani Naik is a senior sports journal and Assant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.

Professional Profile
Role: Assant Editor and Column at The Indian Express.

Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.

Writing Style: Her work is characterized “technical storytelling”—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides “long reads” that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.

Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)

Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:

Indian Badminton’s “Hulks”: She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.

PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her “sparkle” and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.

The “Group of Death”: In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.

Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of “backhand deception” in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.

Legacy and Hory: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing horical context to current Indian successes.

Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)

The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)

Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)

Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)

Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)

Other Sports Interests

Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith’s dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.

You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. … Read More

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