World Championships 2026: India's Ayush Shetty knocks out defending champion Shi Yuqi in round one
On 17 August 2026 in New Delhi the young Indian won 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in 73 minutes against the world No. 1.
The match
India's Ayush Shetty beat China's Shi Yuqi, the defending champion and top seed, 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in the first round of the men's singles at the World Championships in New Delhi on Monday 17 August 2026, according to CGTN and The Week. The match lasted 1 hour 13 minutes.
Details of the decider
CGTN reports that Shetty led 11-5 in the third game before Shi came back to within one point. It was the Indian's first win in four meetings with Shi, who had beaten him 21-8, 21-10 in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships in April, his only individual title of the season so far, per the same report. The Week notes that Shetty won silver at that Asian event.
A detail that differs
CGTN gives Shetty's age as 21; The Week gives both 20 and 21 within the same article, so we say only that he is in his early twenties.
Why it matters
A first-round exit of the world No. 1 shows how thin the margin is at the top when the draw is single-elimination: a lost second game and a long decider are enough.