PETALING JAYA: Four years ago, Ayush Shetty (pic) was a junior watching most of his seniors hold aloft the Thomas Cup trophy.
Now, the 20-year-old Ayush is not just rubbing shoulders with them but also delivered a point in India’s 4-1 win against Canada in the opening Group A tie in the Finals at Forum Horsens on Friday.
In 2022, India defeated Malaysia (quarter-finals), Denmark (semi-finals) and Indonesia (final) to lift their first-ever Thomas Cup.
Except for Ayush, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Kiran George, all the others – Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, K. Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila – were members of the winning team and are back in Horsens.
“I watched all the matches (in 2022) and it was an unforgettable experience,” said Ayush in an interview with the World Badminton Federation.
“And now, being part of the team, I feel really grateful. Most of the winning team are still here, it’s special.”
Srikanth has high regard for the juniors in the team.
“All these players have played enough tournaments, they’ve done well. I don’t think I have to say too much to any of them. I’m just happy with the way everyone understands the atmosphere.
“It’s the first Thomas Cup for Ayush. He’s someone who can take the pressure really well. I don’t really have to say anything to them.
“Over the last year, all of them have played really well.
“So we believe we have a strong team again, and we believe we have a chance of winning the Thomas Cup again.
“We all have to fire at the same time.”
Lakshya dropped the first point after losing 21-18, 19-21, 10-21 to Viktor Lai, but all the others, Satwiksairaj-Chirag, Ayush, Hariharan-Arjun and Srikanth, won their respective matches.
They will play Australia today and China on Wednesday.
