Ayush Shetty’s scintillating, seed-slaying week at the Badminton Asia Championship came to an end with a silver medal, which also was a silver lining within Indian badminton’s recent fortunes.
In the span of a week, the 20-year-old beat three top 10 players – world no. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, WR 4 Jonatan Christie and WR 7 Li Shi Feng – before losing to world champion Shi Yu Qi in the final. But so standout was his performance, complete with a split-second shot that earned social media virality, that a runner-up finish is not a setback, but rather a validation of his potential, especially coming after an injury-affected start to the season.
Ayush has been a youngster to watch out for since a few years and after his first full senior season on the BWF Tour in 2025, where he won India’s first title of the season at the US Open in June, a run like this was due to happen. That it came at a tournament where no other Indian could make a mark made it even more noticeable.
Ranked 25 in the world, Ayush is the India No 2 in men’s singles and in a year which has the Thomas Cup and later the Asian Games coming up, these are the performances that can make a big difference.
This week in Ningbo has given him a lot more belief in his game. “I always wanted to be one of the best players in the world. But earlier, I would say, I didn’t believe it as much as I do now. But over a period of time, I have really started believing it that,’ he said at a media interaction from China. “I want to be the best and I’m working hard on that.”
Beating seasoned players ranked higher than you consecutively, even if it’s not a BWF competition, can do wonders for a youngster’s mindset.
Proud was the word he associated with this week, despite the final loss. “Looking back at this tournament, I’m proud the way I played throughout the tournament, match by match, But yeah it’s a good lesson for me in the final,”. The final scoreline of 21-8, 21-10 was not a pretty one on paper, but Ayush seeing it as a lesson is a good sign. Already he listed three different areas of improvement in three different answers – patience, physical strength, on court smarts – which is a glimpse into his drive to keep getting better at badminton.
This last week has also taught the mild-mannered young man from Mangalore that he is capable of employing a more aggressive mindset even when playing the best of players. “I was more aggressive, usually I’m not but this week I was, showing that how much I really wanted to win all the matches. I’m really happy the way I showed the aggression on the court this week.” Leaning into his aggressive mental side is sure to boost his attacking prowess which is a byproduct of his imposing physical advantage – his height of 6 feet 4-inches. Already, it has drawn countless comparisons with Viktor Axelsen, who he has trained with in his Dubai camp before and is said to have highlighted their similarities too.
Ayush does have the height and wingspan advantages that can make a game as striking as the Danish Olympic champion, and with the right strength and conditioning work, can balance that attack with the low centre of gravity needed for all-court badminton. “Victor is really strong and he can get really low and has a really great defence. It was really surprising that he can do all those things with that height. So that is something I picked up on, I have to be like that if I want play at my best.”
This is being factored in his training at the Centre for Badminton Excellence (CBE) in Bengaluru, (formerly the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy), where he has very recently become part of the same training group as PV Sindhu under Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.
After a back injury affected his start to 2026 and caused an early losing streak, his body is now back in business for longer runs in tournaments. On the mental side, he is working with a psychologist, which he says played an important role coming into this tournament. “To keep my confidence high, even though I was losing in early rounds, and believing in myself was really important for me.”
This belief is there in his mind and now Ayush has a lived-in experience at the BAC to back it. If he can keep up the physical and psychological momentum gained here, he can make the rest of 2026 a massive year with the Thomas Cup, a World Championship at home in New Delhi and the Asian Games.
