Ayush has the potential to become next Lakshya Sen or even better: Junior coach

New Indian Express

a day ago

CHENNAI: The wait is finally over for Indian badminton. In the wee hours (IST) on Monday, shuttler Ayush Shetty pulled off a noteworthy victory at the Mid America Centre in the USA. The 20-year-old from Karnataka captured India's first title of the season on BWF World Tour.
The lanky shuttler, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, capped off his eye-catching run in the US Open, a Super 300 event, with a straight-games (21-18, 21-13) win over Brian Yang of Canada in the final. Given the current landscape of Indian badminton, Ayush's title is massive.
Ayush is one of the youngsters who's looking to establish himself at the elite level. Known for his booming smashes, something that he employed regularly to trouble his opponents in the US, Ayush has been showing signs of promise for some time. After a rocky run at the start of the season, he had beaten former world champ Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in March and has been on the ascendancy since then.
People who have seen him up close are not surprised by his latest exploits. Krishna Kumar S, who groomed Ayush during his junior days, is stoked with the youngster's run. Krishna spotted him during a State (Karnataka) meet in Udupi and brought him to train at his academy (i-SPORTS) in Bengaluru. Even during his salad days, there was something special about Ayush.
"He joined us when he was 11. He was really dominant in the U-13 category in Karnataka. Even then, he was quite tall and his net game and other badminton skills were really extraordinary compared to other players in the state," he told The New Indian Express.
But it was a different tale at the national level. "At the national level, at that age, he didn't have the fitness initially. He was a small boy, of course, and very tall. His lower body was not that strong compared to the other players. But later when he became U-15 and 17, he really picked up his fitness levels. His height was a big advantage and his net game and smash was something that made him stand out from the rest."
That's when Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), where Ayush currently trains, came into the picture. i-SPORTS has a tie-up with the PPBA and Ayush, around the time when he was 17, moved to PPBA with ambitions to elevate him to the next level.
"So when we shifted him, he had plenty of potential, he could do whatever possible and from there onwards, his journey has been really good. Now, he is really tall and one of his major assets is his smashes, his finishing. It's not that easy to finish rallies at the international level. He has the potential to hit hard, in good angles and finish rallies," the former India international said.
Apart from his strengths, Krishna felt Ayush, who is a bronze medallist at the Junior World Championships, has improved on his weaknesses and said that he could potentially follow the footsteps of his seniors.
"His defence was a concern but now he has improved quite a bit. I think PPBA has worked really well on that aspect of his game also. For me, I think he will be India's next Lakshya Sen or even better than that," he noted.
"If he maintains the tempo without any injury, he can definitely go on to become a big name in badminton."
Another important aspect that stood out for Krishna was Ayush's level of confidence. Ayush is not afraid of losing, according to the coach. "He looks very quiet, but inside he is like a volcano. I know because I have sat with him for more than 50-60 matches. Even as a young kid (at Under 13-15 level), he was full of confidence. Other kids would become really nervous but Ayush was built differently."
At the PPBA, Ayush has been working under the guidance of Sagar Chopda. Chopda, who's the head coach at the famed-badminton centre, said that Ayush had been digging deeper during training sessions, something that has led to improved returns. "In terms of the win, this is very important as this is his first international title. He has been consistent in the last few months and this should be a huge confidence booster for him," Chopda said.
"He started (season) off a little slow. But he has picked up his game in the last five tournaments or so. He got that belief when he beat Loh Kean Yew. The potential was there but he wasn't getting those wins before that. The wins against Loh and Lee Chia Hao in the Taipei Open were very good performances. In the training, he himself has been putting in more effort and he has been very sincere. In the last few months, he has realised that his fitness levels need to improve if he wants to play back-to-back tough tournaments. A lot of credit also goes to the trainers, who have planned his training sessions," he said.
Ayush's smash and his build are clearly his strengths and Chopda said that he has been looking to refine other finer aspects of his game.
"When he came to us (PPBA), he was 17. I had seen him during his U-17 days, he had a huge build for his age and his smash was his big weapon. In the junior level, a big smash will help you win a lot of points. He won the junior world championships bronze medal as well. He has been consistently working on other aspects like his retrieving ability, his defence, which still needs a lot of improvement. He has been in the Indian circuit for quite some time but he has now started doing well at the international level as well."
The Indian badminton fraternity would be hopeful that this is just the beginning for Ayush.
Road to US Open title
Rd of 32: bt Magnus Johannesen 21-17, 21-19
Rd of 16: bt Tharun Mannepalli 21-12, 13-21, 21-15
Q/F: bt Kuo Kuan Lin 22-20, 21-9
S/F: bt Chou Tien Chen 23-21, 21-15, 21-14
Final: bt Brian Yang 21-18, 21-13