NEW DELHI: Ayush Shetty has been able to achieve what no other Indian shuttler has managed so far — win a BWF World Tour title in 2025. PV Sindhu has been far from winning one. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty only managed to reach the semis. Former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth came the closest when he made the Malaysia Masters final in May.
The deadlock ended when the 20-year-old Shetty stood on the top step of the podium in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Sunday after winning the $240,000 US Open men’s singles crown.
The second highest ranked Indian shuttler after Lakshya Sen (world No.20), the world No.34 took just 47 minutes to beat third seed Brian Yang 21-18, 21-13 in the final which earned him his third straight victory over the Canadian and the first title of his young senior career.
“He has been showing progress this year. If you look at his performances at the Orleans Masters and Taipei Open (he reached both the semis), he did well. In fact, he has beaten some top-level players like (former world champion) Low Kean Yew and Rasmus Gemke. He has been hitting some good form against top players,” Shetty’s coach U Vimal Kumar told HT from Bengaluru.
“But at the US Open, beating (world No.6) Chou Tien Chen, especially in the semi-finals, was very creditable. He could have won in two games because he was up 19-14 in the first game. From there, he lost 23-21. He came back well where I really liked the way he attacked.”
Playing in the USA has proved lucky for the lanky Shetty. It was in the US two years back that Shetty first made the headlines when he clinched bronze at the 2023 World Junior Championships. He also made the finals of the Odisha Masters and Bahrain International (both in 2023).
Last year, having fully made his move to the senior level, Shetty decided to take part in only lower tier events, making the quarter-finals and semi-finals regularly, and eventually the final at the 2024 Dutch Open. But this year Shetty started playing higher tier events on the BWF World Tour, having the belief of not just challenging but also surprising some of the higher ranked players.
“He is 6’4”. So, he has very, very steep smashes. That unsettles many players. That is one of his strengths. He is also quite good at the net. His defence has improved in the last three or four months as he has consciously been working on it,” added Vimal, who is also a national selector.
“He has really shown some good improvement. I am quite pleased with the way he is playing now. He is making a mark with the title at the world stage. I am quite happy for him.”
A product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru, Shetty trains with Sen, Kiran George and Manraj Singh, among others. After clinching the Super 300 title, he will next take part in this week’s $240,000 Canada Open in Markham, also a Super 300 event, where he is seeded fifth and faces compatriot S Sankar Muthusamy in the opener.
“I told him that it is not finished, that he has to try and win the Canada Open too, asking him to remain focused. He has got five more matches to go. I hope he can continue to perform well in the next event as well. The target we have given him is to come into the top 25 by the end of the year,” added Vimal.
Tanvi loses in final
It was end of the road for 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma, who delivered standout performances the entire week before losing in the women’s singles final to top seed and local favourite Beiwen Zhang. India’s world No.66 lost 11-21, 21-16, 10-21 in 46 minutes, ending a run that featured some fearless performances as she beat players ranked Nos.23, 40, 50 and 58 en route to the final.