There were quite a few anecdotes about Ayush Shetty, as narrated by his mother. He was good at chess and academics. It was difficult to choose, but the parents had to back his love for the sport he is starting to dominate. The mother had to shift with Ayush and his sister to Bengaluru to pursue his dream. His love for the game transcended into an obsession. And has remained to this day.
There is an uncanny resemblance with one GOATS of the game—Victor Axelsen from Denmark—and it goes beyond the dominating frame of six feet and four inches.
The attack and court coverage are just a few. The great Dane himself had complimented the World No 18 and coming player for his ‘similar’ style play during a camp in Dubai last year. “I love to attack,” surmises Ayush’s inner engineering while playing the sport. This is just the beginning of his fledgling career, but Ayush has made a few heads turn and take notice—World No 7 Li Shi Feng, World No 4 Jonatan Christie, Kunlavut Vitidsarn (World No 1 at the time, No 2 now) were some of his scalps.
Not long ago, Indian badminton was staring at an abyss. A void to be left behind by quite a few trailblazers. Multiple World and Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, London Games medallist Saina Nehwal, former World No 1 Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy had been keeping India’s tri-colour flying.
But the scythe of age is mercilessly catching up with them. Saina is now retired, while the rest are struggling with their ageing body. Lakshya Sen, considered to be the present, was enduring an ordinary year by his lofty standards with injuries not helping his case until not so long back. Even the ever-reliable men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were feeling the toll at the elite level.
Amidst the gloomy backdrop, Ayush stands tall, literally (just like his six feet and four inches frame). The smashes and drop shots suddenly resemble volleys of bullets, forceful and precise. Ayush’s arrival in the last month or so has been a welcome boost for Indian badminton. The lanky youngster was a revelation during the Asia Championships at Ningbo, China, where he upset some of the cream of the sport to become only the second from the country to reach the men’s singles final in the continental meet after Dinesh Khanna. He could not quite match Khanna’s gold, which was won in 1965, but his silver was cathartic for India.
Ayush had always dreamt of playing alongside the greats of the game. “I always wanted to be one of the best players in the world... Back then, I didn’t believe it as much as I do now,” he said after winning the Asian championships medal.
His mother Shalmili succinctly puts it. “For him, it was always like ‘I want to be on top’. That was there from Day 1. He had that determination. That is the reason we shifted to Bengaluru. Even after 10th, we were a little confused as to whether to continue with badminton or not as he was quite good in studies as well. He used to be the class topper. He used to tell us, ‘I’ll prove and show you I’ll be doing something great in badminton’. Given what he said, we thought ‘let’s give him a chance’,” she had told this newspaper after Ayush’s silver. That was just the beginning for Ayush, who turned 21 just a few days ago.
With India looking to reclaim the Thomas Cup crown, Ayush, from the team’s perspective, was one of the players in focus once again at Horsens, Denmark. The youngster, representing the country for the first time in the premier event, once again roared at the big stage and helped the team capture the bronze medal. It is a reflection of his tenacious talent and his ability to play at the highest level.
But it’s just the beginning. “I need to plan and prepare better next time, facing someone like Christo (Popov). He’s tactically really good and it’s a good learning for me,” Ayush had said after his loss in the semifinal against the Frenchman. It has been a good learning experience. Ayush, who’s expected to take part in Thailand Open Super 500 event next, could climb even higher in the days to unfold.
Ayush loves to attack. And that’s what he is going to do in his pursuit of excellence. “If you look skill-wise, I was playing more attacking this week. I didn’t want to go defensive,” he had said after the Asia Championships. With years to go and hundreds of titles to win, hopefully with attack, Ayush flourishes.
