Kamal Ghorui
Ayush Shetty of Karkala in Karnataka’s Udipi, emulated a six decade-old Indian feat by reaching the summit stage of the continental championship when he upset world No.1 Kunvalut Vitidsarn of Thailand in Ningbo, China on Saturday.In 1965, Dinesh Khanna became the first – and the only – Indian to win the Asian men’s singles title. On Sunday, the gangly Ayush – standing six-feet-four in his socks – has the opportunity to stand alongside the Delhi-based former Punjab shuttler when he faces Shi Yu Qi, the reigning world champion from China. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had bagged the Asian doubles title in 2023.On Saturday, the 20-year-old Ayush dethroned Kunvalut 10-21, 21-19, 21-17, while world No.2 Shi outclassed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-9, 21-13 in the semifinals of Badminton Asia Championships.Shi had beaten Ayush at the Malaysia Open this Jan and Indonesia Masters last year. the world No. 25 Indian had knocked out world No.7 Li Shi Feng in the first round and world No. 4 Jonatan Christie in the quarterfinals.“It feels great to reach the final in my very first Asian championship,” Ayush said.Though slow off the blocks, he picked up towards the end of the first game. Riding on his retrieving capabilities, power-packed jump smashes and excellent court-coverage, Ayush rallied after losing the first game.Beating former world champion Kunvalut in three games is considered difficult on the circuit. The Thai is regarded as a slow starter who grows stronger with time spent on court. But Ayush employed a different strategy to outwit the ‘Three-Set Man’. He played with a lot of patience, displayed endurance-based play-style and employed attacking shots whenever he got the range.“After the first set I played with more patience, he was really retrieving every shuttle. I had to keep attacking,” Ayush set after prevailing in the 1 hour 15 minute contest.Ayush almost lost the match when Kunlavut saved five game points in the second set. Up 20-14 in the second, Ayush made too many unforced errors and allowed Kunlavut to make it 20-19. At this stage, he did well to anticipate a high return from Kunlavut. He took time and produced a much-needed down-the-line smash winner to push the contest into the decider.Ayush retrieved well and hit hard to start with a 4-1 lead, extended it to 8-3 and led 11-7 at the mandatory change of courts in the third game. He maintained a healthy lead after the break as a worried Kunlavut lost his length and hit the shuttle either into the net or out.
