Ayush Shetty’s remarkable run to the final at the Asian Badminton Championships has come with an unexpected trade-off. With the rest of the Indian contingent having exited a lot earlier, the 20-year-old Ayush, who was still playing on Sunday, has found himself stuck in Ningbo without a flight back to India.
The extra day in China has given him a chance to review a week that saw the current world number 25 scalp three players ranked in the top ten. He first beat China’s world number 7 Li Shifeng in the opening round, then got the better of former Asian Games champion and world number 4 Jonathan Christie in the quarterfinals before beating world number 1 and Paris Olympics silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semifinals.
While the final against China’s Shi Yuqi didn’t go the way he would have hoped for, Ayush says there was a lot he learned about himself. Speaking to reporters in an online interaction, Ayush said was happy with the aggression he showed through the tournament, and despite losing to Shi, learned a lot from the final.
What’s something that you feel you learned about yourself over the last week?
I think I learned I need to keep trusting the process and believing in myself was the most important part of that. This last week, I was really aggressive. I played a lot more attacking badminton. That was a key point. I’m not usually this aggressive. I was showing how much I wanted to win every match. I’m happy I showed that aggression.
You actually didn’t have a great start to the year. (He’d only won four matches over SEVEN tournaments since the season began). What went right for you in Ningbo?
I actually had a very tough European tour coming into this tournament (He won just one match over the All England Championships, the Swiss Open and the Orleons Masters). At the start of the year also I hadn’t done that well but that was because I was coming in with just about a weeks training. I wasn’t at my best physically then.
But going into the Europe leg, I was fully fit and felt I was at my best. It’s tough to make early exits when you are physically at your best. I’ve been working with a psychologist and I think that played a really important role in keeping my confidence high. After losing a number of matches in the early rounds it was really important to believe in myself.
You beat a number of top ten players at the Asian Championships. Even before the final you had said you were looking forward to playing Shi Yuqi in China. How did you develop this big match temperament?
Last year I won against a few top players (Ayush beat Chou Tien Chen in the semifinals of the USA Open – his first World Tour 300 title – and later beat Kodai Naraoka at the Australian Open). That played a role. It gave me the confidence that I can play the best in the world. I think it’s fun to play against the top players. I enjoyed that and I’m trying to give my best.
READ | Ayush Shetty reminded Viktor Axelsen of his younger days: Vimal Kumar
When you were started into the sport you had told your parents that you wanted to be a great player. Do you think you are on your way to doing that?
I always wanted to be one of the best in the world. It was my dream. It still is. Back then I maybe didn’t believe it as much as I do now. Over time, I really started believing that I could be really good. That pushed me into doing the hard work that it takes to be among the best. I now believe I can do this. I’m really working hard on achieving that dream.
What do you think went wrong in the final against Shi Yuqi?
I think in the final Shi didn’t give me chance to attack. He didn’t give me a chance to dominate at the net. I couldn’t create any attacking chances. The semifinals had gone a similar way. I had lost the first game (against both Vitidsarn and Shi) and in the second I took a lead (he led 7-2) against Shi. Against Kunlavut I think I was able to stay more patient in the longer rallies. Against Shi I was prepared to be patient but in the end I gave him a chance to get back into the game. I got impatient and he got his confidence back. Once he got into his rhythm he started playing some really sharp shots.
How hard has the loss been for you?
The loss in the final was really tough. I really wanted to win that match. But I think it’s a great learning experience. I think the way Shi played, he didn’t give me a chance. He just didn’t allow me to come back in the match. It was a good lesson in the final. There are things I’ve learned that I need to do. If there’s one area I want to improve on it’s on the physical side. I need to get physically stronger. If I want to be amongst the best, it’s an area I need to work on.
You’ve recently started training with Indonesian coach Irwansyah (who was earlier coaching PV Sindhu). What was that like?
It’s been only two weeks since I started training with him. With Irwansyan, sessions are longer. I’ve not doing as much physical workouts since I knew I didn’t have much time to the Asian Championships but even the sessions we were doing were a quite a bit longer and tougher than the ones I was doing previously.
You seemed to have gone off social media until the final of the Asian Championships. Were you able to see what PV Sindhu wrote about you (Sindhu described Ayush as a ‘generational talent’ in a post on X)
I had actually decided I wasn’t going to post anything about the tournament until the final got over. That was the plan. But I was still looking at social media. I was very happy to see the the good things in Sindhu’s post. I’ve been training with her for some time (at the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru). We’ve actually done sparring and practised together.
READ | Ayush Shetty needed more patience in final: Sagar Chopda
There are a few things in common with Sindhu. You are pretty tall as well. How does that help you?
There are both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, I can get really sharp angles and I can hit really steep shots. But on the other side, it’s not easy to defend and get low on the court. I have to really work on building my leg strength.
Ayush says he wants to work on strengthening his legs to help work on his defense.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
Ayush says he wants to work on strengthening his legs to help work on his defense.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
You trained with Viktor Axelsen a couple of years ago and he said that you remind him of himself when he was younger. What do you make of that?
It makes you feel great when your idol says good things about you. But there’s a lot I can learn from him. Viktor is really strong and he gets really low to the ground which gives him a great defence. It’s really surprising he can do that with his height. This is something I picked up on and want to do if I want to be among the very best.
After reaching the Asian Championships finals, there will be a lot of expectations on you. How do you plan to deal with them in what is a big year for you?
I see the expectation as a challenge. I’m enjoying the expectations and I’m looking forward for the year. There are two major competitions we are targetting this year — the World Championships and the Asian Games.
Published on Apr 13, 2026
Ayush says he wants to work on strengthening his legs to help work on his defense. | Photo Credit: AFP
Ayush says he wants to work on strengthening his legs to help work on his defense. | Photo Credit: AFP