Between the buzz over IPL’s teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a young Indian shuttler’s giant-killing spree at the Badminton Asian Championships, one of them has barely made a dent in cricket-crazy India.
Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old opening batsman from a nondescript town called Tajpur in Bihar, has made a mockery of the bowling reputations of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Josh Hazlewood — three legends of modern fast bowlers — at this year’s ongoing Indian Premier League.
But the story of upcoming Indian badminton star Ayush Shetty is no less inspiring.
Born in Sanoor, a little village in Karnataka, Shetty announced his arrival on the big stage by knocking out several top players to reach last week’s final of the Badminton Asian Championships in China.
In the semifinal, the 20-year-old upset world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in a gripping duel, 10-21, 21-19, 21-17.
The thrilling comeback from the talented Thai superstar came after he scored an impressive win against world number four Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the quarterfinal and world number 20 Chi Yu-jen of Taiwan in round of 16 and world number seven Li Shifeng in China round of 32.
Though Shetty lost the final to reigning world champion Shi Yuqi of China, he became the first Indian shuttler since Dinesh Khanna in 1965 to enter men’s singles final of Asian Championships — a magnificent feat from the youngster at tournament where India’s two stars — PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen — crashed out early.
As far as the depth of talent goes, to reach the final in Asia is no way inferior to an appearance in the title-decider of world championships and Olympics.
The top 10 men’s singles players in the world are all from Asia, and the women’s singles top 10 is entirely composed of Asian stars.
Shetty, even before his Asian championships heroics, has found a fan in PV Sindhu, his iconic compatriot.
“I have always said that he is a generational talent. Pure talent, he is right up there with the very best young players I’ve seen,” Sindhu, who was crowned world champion in 2019 and has won two Olympic medals, posted on X.
“There is a prodigious amount of talent within him, and instantly you see what he can do on the court. He has been training alongside coach Irwan in my training group for the last three weeks and this period has only given me more faith that he can achieve great things.”
Ranked 25th in the world right now, Shetty has an all-around game that seems almost certain to soon see him break into the top 10 of the world rankings.
“Physically on the court he is very impressive. He has a very good height with an excellent reach and already his smash is very, deep-heavy which put the opponent under real pressure,” said Sindhu.
“What makes him special as well is his defensive instinct. He keeps his body very low, reads the shuttle well and has a natural inclination to absorb pressure in rallies. As with any young athlete who is truly elite, there are aspects that will dictate how far he finally reaches.”
The greatest thing about Shetty, he said, is not his badminton ability.
“What has been very encouraging over these last three weeks, is his attitude,” Sindhu said.
“He has trained alongside me, with coach Irwan and the extended team, very seriously, and the early signs of progress are already starting to show.”
And Sooryavanshi is breathing all the headlines now. But should Shetty mount another giant-killing run at the world championships later this year, the young player might also become a household name in India.