BWF Day 1: Shetty Naam Hai Mera, Ayush Shetty Turns the World Championships Upside Down

There is something wonderfully strange about a World Championship. 

You spend days studying the seeds, analysing the rankings, looking at possible quarter-final match-ups and trying to work out who might meet whom when the tournament gets serious. Then somebody walks onto the court and tears the entire script apart. That is exactly what Ayush Shetty did on the opening day of the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi.

Shi Yuqi was supposed to be one of the players around whom this championship was built. The defending champion. The World No. 1. The top seed. One of the overwhelming favourites for the title.

Instead, the Chinese star will now be watching the rest of the tournament from outside the draw. The man who sent him there was a 21-year-old Indian playing his first World Championships. And, honestly, what a way to introduce yourself.

The draw masters had a sense of humour

When the draw was made, Shetty could hardly have been thrilled with what awaited him.

A World Championships debut is supposed to come with excitement, perhaps some nerves, maybe even an opportunity to settle into the tournament against a lower-ranked opponent. Shetty got none of that.

He got Shi Yuqi. The defending champion. The World No. 1.

And a player against whom he had lost all three previous meetings. One of those defeats had come earlier this year in the Asian Championships final, where Shetty had to settle for silver. So when he walked onto court in Delhi, there was little expectation that he would be the one walking away with the biggest result of Day 1.

But badminton has a habit of ignoring expectations. Over 73 minutes, Shetty produced the performance of his young career, defeating Shi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19.

The scoreline tells the story, but the third game tells it even better. Shetty had raced into a commanding position at 11-5 and later extended his lead to 16-5. At that point, the defending champion was staring at elimination.

But Shi is World No. 1 for a reason. He fought. He found his rhythm. He began clawing back points until the comfortable Indian lead suddenly looked dangerously fragile. Shetty could have panicked. He didn't. He stayed in the contest, found his composure and eventually closed out one of the biggest wins in recent Indian badminton history.

That is some way to announce yourself at your first Worlds.

A dream start for India

Shetty's heroics were the headline, but India's opening day was much bigger than one result. The hosts enjoyed a perfect day, with all five Indian entries in action advancing to the second round. Former world champion P.V. Sindhu began her campaign with a comfortable 21-7, 21-11 victory over Ireland's Rachael Darragh.

There was never much doubt about the outcome. Sindhu controlled the opening game from the start and used her attacking game and court coverage to establish a sizeable advantage. The second game was more competitive, but the Indian veteran remained in control and closed out the match without allowing her opponent to build any real momentum.

In men's doubles, M.R. Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan also progressed after their Irish opponents retired while trailing. The two Indian women's doubles combinations also made it through, ensuring that every Indian entry on Day 1 survived. For Arjun, the day carried an added personal significance. His parents were reportedly watching him play live after around 13 years.

A World Championship has a way of creating memories that have absolutely nothing to do with the final score. But however good the rest of India's results were, there was only one result everybody wanted to talk about. Ayush Shetty had beaten Shi Yuqi.

The top seed was gone.

The defending champion's departure has immediately changed the complexion of the men's singles competition.

It wasn't the only surprise. Japan's Yushi Tanaka also produced an upset by defeating China's 16th seed Weng Hongyang. Several other leading contenders progressed without too much trouble. But that is almost beside the point. A World Championship can take two weeks to unfold. Sometimes, however, it takes one match to change its entire shape.

This was that match. Shi's exit removes one of the biggest names from the title race and opens up the draw for players who suddenly see a much more realistic route towards the latter stages.

And somewhere in that altered bracket is Shetty.

There is a catch to an upset. It makes you famous. The next round tests whether you belong. Yesterday, Shetty was a highly regarded 21-year-old making his World Championships debut.

Today, he is the Indian everyone wants to watch. The expectations have changed overnight. Can he recover physically after a 73-minute battle?

Can he handle the attention?

https://www.indiasportshub.com/articles/ayush-shetty-stuns-world-no-1-shi-yu-qi-in-sensational-bwf-world-championships-debut

Can he reproduce the same intensity without the freedom that comes from being the underdog? Can he avoid getting carried away by the biggest victory of his career?

Those are questions for the next round. Today, Shetty has earned the right to enjoy it.

And Delhi?

There was another quiet victory on Day 1. Earlier this year, the India Open generated headlines for almost everything except badminton. The venue, hygiene, access points, birds and even a now-famous monkey seemed capable of competing with the players for attention. On Day 1 of the World Championships, mercifully, the story was badminton.

The venue stayed in the background. That is exactly where it belongs. The spotlight was on the players. And no one shone brighter than Ayush Shetty.

So Day 1 leaves us with a defending champion eliminated, the World No. 1 seed gone, India unbeaten and a 21-year-old Indian suddenly carrying a very different kind of expectation. Tomorrow, the tournament moves on. The draw will be analysed again. The next opponents will be studied. The possibilities will be discussed.

But somewhere along the way, someone will ask the simplest question of all:

Who defeated Shi Yuqi?

And perhaps the answer is already writing itself.

“Shetty naam hai mera.”

Ayush Shetty.