Ayush Shetty Knocked Out by Alwi in BWF World Championships Pre-Quarters

BWF World Championships: Ayush Shetty Knocked Out by Alwi Farhan in Pre-Quarters

Ayush Shetty’s campaign at the BWF World Championships ended in the Round of 16 on Thursday after the Indian shuttler was beaten in straight games by familiar opponent Alwi Farhan at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

The World No. 22, who had produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by defeating World No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the previous round, went down 19-21, 11-21 in 45 minutes.

With the home crowd firmly behind him, Ayush started positively but could not maintain his momentum. He fought back from 14-18 down in the opening game to move 19-18 ahead, only for Alwi to win the next three points and take the game 21-19.

Ayush struggled to deal with the Indonesian’s speed and attacking pressure. His hesitation in playing deep lifts, partly due to the court drift, allowed Alwi to attack shorter returns and repeatedly target his right hip with body smashes.

The Indian’s problems became more pronounced in the second game. Alwi’s rapid movement prevented Ayush from settling into an attacking rhythm, and the Indonesian quickly established a commanding lead.

Ayush had beaten Alwi as recently as July at the China Open, but the Indonesian turned the tables when it mattered most. Despite advice from the coaching bench during the interval, Ayush was unable to change the flow of the contest.

The defeat ends India’s men’s singles campaign at the World Championships. Lakshya Sen, the country’s top-ranked men’s singles player, had been eliminated by USA’s Garret Tan in the previous round.

Alwi is now the only Indonesian men’s singles player remaining in the draw after Jonathan Christie was knocked out by Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke earlier in the day.