BWF World C'ships: Ayush Shetty stuns world No. 1 Shi Yuqi

Rising star Ayush Shetty registered one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, knocking out world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the first round of the BWF World C'ships in New Delhi on Monday.

The 21-year-old defeated the defending champion in three games, 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, in what was an exciting 73-minute-long match in the men's singles round of 64.

This was Ayush's first win over Shi in what was their fourth meeting. In doing so, the young Indian avenged the loss he sustained against the Chinese in the final of the Asian Championships earlier this year.

Ayush had a solid start to the match and dominated the rally, showcasing quality defensive display to rattle Shi on his attacking front en route to clinching the first game.

As expected, Shi came right back in the second game while employing a different approach: keeping the shuttle near the net and taking down the body smash whenever he got a high lift.

In the final game, Ayush was soared to a 17-6 lead. But then, and against the run of play, his composure evaporated as Shi began to erase the deficit.

Ayush then squandered multiple game-points, much to the crowd's disbelief.

And with the game in the balance and Shi trailing by just 1 point (19-20), the unseeded Indian played a deceptive forehand-jab to wrong foot the defending champion and seal what was a sensational victory. 

Here are the results of the Indian shuttlers on the opening day:

MD: Hariharan Amsakarunan/ M.R Arjun bt. 21-16, 6-4r, Scott Guildea/Paul Reynolds (IRE)

WD: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand bt. 21-9, 21-13, Paula López/Lucía Rodríguez (ESP)

WS: PV Sindhu bt. 21-7, 21-11, Sophia Noble (IRE)

MS: Ayush Shetty bt. 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, Shi Yuqi (CHN)

WD: Kaivipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi bt. 22-20, 21-14 Nikol Carulla/Carmen Jiménez (ESP)