With the Badminton World Championships around the corner and the draws now sealed, all eyes are on Ayush Shetty, who has been handed the toughest opening match among all Indian singles players.

Ayush, on his tournament debut, will face World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi. The odds are not in favour of the 21-year-old, having lost all three meetings to date, including the most recent one in the final of the Asian Championships.

“As soon as I got Shi (in the draw), I told myself that I was ready to face anyone. As I’m unseeded, I was prepared to play even the World No. 1. It’s just another match, though I’m aware that it’ll be a really tough battle,” Ayush said in an online interaction.

Despite the daunting task at hand, Ayush cut a confident figure when asked about the rematch, stating that he has analysed all their meetings and is ready for the ‘special’ clash.

“Shi is a really tough opponent to play against. I remember my match against him in the Asian Championships final; he was really prepared. But I think I’ve gotten better and we’ll be better prepared this time. I really have to work hard while playing against him. I’ll have to be tactically better this time,” he said.

“It gives me confidence that I have done well in the Thomas Cup and Asian Championships, but the World Championships is definitely higher-ranked for me and my team. It’s a good challenge, and I’m ready.”

This is the second straight edition in which an Indian will face Shi in the opening round, after Lakshya Sen went down 17-21, 19-21 to the Chinese player last year.

Lakshya, however, avenged that loss when the two met again in the first round at the All England earlier this year.

Shi, who will be defending his title, has been far from his best in recent weeks, and that gives a now fully fit Ayush a chance to cause an early upset.

“I had some pain (elbow injury) earlier, but now it’s all good. I’ll be at 100% during the Worlds,” he stated.

Indian shuttler Rithvik Sanjeevi, who scored a hard-fought 17-21, 23-21, 21-16 win over Croatia’s Aria Dinata to clinch the title at the 2026 Valence Alpes International in France recently, attributed his success to an improvement in his net game, which he had long identified as a weakness.

“My net game improved from match to match. I was able to read the shuttle earlier and create openings to finish the rally. My net play and attack were on point throughout the tournament,” said Rithvik.

The title run was built on consistency and composure. Rithvik eased past France’s Arthur Chardain 21-19, 21-8 and Amaury Lièvre 21-12, 21-15 before overcoming Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko 21-17, 14-21, 21-10 in the quarterfinals. He then edged Denmark’s William Bogebjerg 21-14, 18-21, 21-17 in the semifinals to set up a title clash that tested both his tactical awareness and resilience.

Despite dropping the opening game in the final, Rithvik never felt the contest was slipping away.

“I always think that I can catch up from anywhere. It doesn’t matter what the score is. If every player has that mindset, I guess they can achieve anything,” he said.

The Indian revealed that he had studied Dinata’s game beforehand but deliberately kept his own attacking instincts in check early in the match. “I initially kept the shuttle in play. I didn’t want to use all my strengths at the start because I wanted to understand his game better. Dinata played a very clean first game, so it took me a while to recalibrate. After changing my game plan in the second game, I played the third with confidence,” said Rithvik, who is now 77th in the BWF rankings.

The triumph marks another significant milestone for the Chennai-born shuttler, whose career has been interrupted by injuries, including a meniscus tear that required surgery during the Covid lockdown and Grade 3 ankle ligament injuries in 2023 and 2024.

With the confidence of an international title behind him, Rithvik has now set his sights on breaking into the world’s top 50, while keeping his longer-term dream of winning an Olympic gold medal firmly in view.