4 min readApr 8, 2026 10:20 AM IST
After Lakshya Sen decimated the Chinese men’s singles at All England, Ayush Shetty kept the powerhouse under the pump, with a stunningly poised and powerful win over Li Shifeng in the first round of the Badminton Asian Championship.
The Indian attack quite simply overran the most attacking of China’s shuttlers, as the World No 25 Indian defanged World No 7 Shifeng, playing crisp, crackling badminton. It took 55 minutes, mostly to overhaul early set leads (7.5. 8-5) from Shifeng. The Chinese, just 26 is already from a generation that is being challenged and pushed out by the new bunch of post-teens.
The longest rally perhaps came when Shifeng desperately tried, when trailing 13-19 in the first set to construct a maze to tire out Ayush. But the Indian stayed solid, did the due retrieving and finished with a smash, which are mic-drops in the sense that Shifeng rarely got near them.
Guided by Irwansyah, a perfect fit for Ayush as coach, given his classical power stroke-making, the 6’4″ Indian showed composure to work on Shifeng’s game – tease out strands of possible openings, locate the precise incisions on court to land his kills just like Indonesians like Jojo Christie. A bulk of points came from Ayush’s dependable net interceptions. This one point, he tapped it down, seconds after the shuttle crossed the net and smiled wide, to show his mirth at a job well done.
But more than anything, Ayush neatly dispatched all vague, errant lifts and even flick serves to Shifeng’s forehand flank, with smashes that travelled like cannonballs – deep. There’s a million things Ayush could improve on in his defense and movement on court and shot selection, but the smash, even a round the head or the conventional one struck at highest point, is a finished product, ready to dismantle world hierarchies.
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It travels at speed, stays within bounds with stinging urgency and lands on the backcourt. A sniper from a vantage. At 9-12, Ayush sent one into the net and he could save tiny energy not grimacing and hopping around. But the very next point, he nailed one to Shifeng’s backhand and was soon level on 12-12 riding momentum, like a blazing comet’s tail. The beauty of the Ayush smash is it doesn’t need to engage with the lines – even against a tall retriever like Shifeng who couldn’t react quick enough to the Indian’s smashes.
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In fact, Ayush had trailed mostly for the first half of the second set, but made his way back with crisp shot making and taking the attack to the Chinese. Every Ayush kill was greeted by silence rent with disappointment from the Chinese crowd at Ningbo.
The 21-13, 21-16 victory came from a similar smash – though this time Shifeng who had been pumping his fists start of the set, didn’t even move and returned leaden-footed as a capacity crowd was silenced.
It was supposed to be a battle of big booming attacks, the biggest of Chinese vs biggest of the Indian’s, and the Indian was miles ahead, despite operating only at 70 percent of his all-round attack potential.
Irwansyah’s influence was evident in how Ayush did not prolong the rallies or get lured into needless midcourt exchanges. He can still get sharper and more controlled in defense, but the attack is flowing. He also takes those breathes needed to reorient the nervous energy after a point lost.
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Coach Vimal Kumar lauded the performance. “What a performance by Ayush Shetty today in Ningbo, China at the Asian Championships. He absolutely blew away Li Shi Feng in straight games with fearless, attacking badminton. The power, the precision, and those thunderous smashes — the Chinese had no answers, completely unable to read or react. A truly dominant display… one to watch for the future,” he said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
