PETALING JAYA: Even world champions have their off days.
And on Monday (Aug 17), defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China lived every top seed's worst nightmare when he went down 14-21, 21-13, 19-21 in 73 minutes to debutant Ayush Shetty of India at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.
The defeat for Yuqi was a reminder of how much Shetty has improved since the Chinese star beat him at the Asian Championships in Ningbo four months ago and praised his 20-year-old opponent.
"I won our last match, but he has made a lot of positive changes since then, not only in his style of play but also in the way he prepared for the match and the conditions at the venue," said Yuqi.
"Winning and losing are part of the game. Being one of the top players in the world does not mean you are going to win every tournament.
Ayush who, had never beaten Yuqi in their previous three meetings, said the win had given him added belief to go further in the tournament.
"I would rank it as the biggest win of my career. To do it at home, on my World Championships debut and against the world No. 1 makes it very special. I’m super happy," said Shetty.
"He was retrieving everything, and I think I became a little desperate to finish the match because I was so close to the finish line.
"But he was never going to give you easy points. Towards the end, it was all about handling the nerves. I took a risk on the final point, played a deceptive shot and fortunately it went in,” said Shetty.
However, Shetty knows he cannot afford to let his guard down as he faces Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama in the second round.
Although world No. 87 Abeywickrama is ranked well below Shetty, who sits at No. 22, the Sri Lankan has beaten him before, winning their meeting at the Bahrain International Challenge three years ago.
