Mumbai: The journey to success, especially in sports, is somewhat easier when there have been trail blazers, someone whose footsteps can be followed. For India, the path to the podium has long been set at the BWF World Championships – the country has won a gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals at the elite competition across disciplines over the years.
Some of the biggest names in the sport have set those yardsticks. But Ayush Shetty, the 21-year-old rising star who competes in his debut World Championships in New Delhi starting on August 17, is not looking at those achievements.
“I don’t see it as a benchmark to chase,” he said during a virtual interaction on Monday. “I’m not focusing on what others have done – they are legends of the game. I have been focusing more on myself, playing better and winning matches. I would like to set my own benchmark.”
It’s a bold statement by a player who transitioned into the senior circuit less than three years ago. He has already shown that he is capable of producing big wins.
In April, a month short of his 21st birthday, the boy from Karkala, Karnataka became the first Indian man to reach the singles final at the Badminton Asia Championships in 61 years, taking the silver medal. He became the youngest Indian male shuttler to stand on the podium at the continental event.
A month after that achievement in Ningbo, China, he won four of his five matches to help the Indian team claim bronze at the Thomas Cup.
These were performances that took him as high as No.18 in the world rankings, but also gave him a confidence boost for tackling life on the professional tour.
“When I entered the senior circuit, playing against the top 20 players was a great challenge,” Shetty said. “Matching the pace was really tough, but I think I’ve adapted to it and I can push (opponents) and play at their pace.”
His belief has grown with the performances.
The run to the final in Ningbo saw him beat fifth seed Li Shifeng, world No.20 Chi Yu Jen, world No.3 Jonatan Christie and then world No.1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn. In the final, he lost to current world No.1 Shi Yu Qi.
That was Shetty’s third loss in three matches against the Chinese player. He is now gearing up for their fourth meeting after being drawn to face the tournament favourite in the opening round of the World Championships.
“I was watching the (draw) live and as soon as I got Shi… I was ready to face anyone. I was unseeded, so I was prepared to even play the world No.1,” Shetty said. “It’s just another match and it’ll be a tough battle. I’ve got better (since the last meeting) and I’ll be better prepared this time.”
Since May, he has been working to develop his game, focusing specifically on the “physical and tactical aspects.”
“We’ve been working on being more accurate on the shots as well, and it’s been going really well,” he added.
It’s a rather difficult hurdle he faces in his first senior World Championship match. But the player who stands 6’5” has been expected to do great things in the sport by Danish great Viktor Axelsen and PV Sindhu, who is the only Indian to have won gold at the Worlds.
Shetty, while appreciating the praise, is keen to block out the outside noise.
“It’s a great honour getting the praise from these legends,” he said. “But I want to focus on getting better every day, believe in the process and just enjoy playing badminton. That’s my motto.”
