Now Reading: Ayush Shetty Drawn Against Defending Champion Shi Yuqi in Opener
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Ayush Shetty Drawn Against Defending Champion Shi Yuqi in Opener
India’s Ayush Shetty will face defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi of China in the opening round of the badminton World Championships in New Delhi. The 21-year-old Indian, an Asian Championships…
The Story in Brief
India’s Ayush Shetty will face defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi of China in the opening round of the badminton World Championships in New Delhi. The 21-year-old Indian, an Asian Championships silver medallist, has lost all three of his previous meetings with Shi. Lakshya Sen will play Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon and could meet second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the last 16.
PV Sindhu begins against Ireland’s Sophia Nobel and could face China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the last 16. Fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have a first-round bye in men’s doubles. India is hosting the championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from August 17 to 23, its first hosting since Hyderabad in 2009.
The Indian Opinion
The easy story is that India’s home championships have produced a cruel draw, or that a few seeded names guarantee medals. Neither holds up yet. Shetty’s attacking game gives him a chance, but his 0-3 record against Shi is the clearest measure of the task. Sindhu and the doubles pairs have more manageable starts, though their likely later opponents are strong. The first useful test is simple: can Shetty take a game from Shi, and can India put multiple players into the last eight?
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
