NEW DELHI: At 6 feet 5 inches, Ayush Shetty doesn’t quite blend into a badminton court. He looms, he stretches the geometry of rallies, and when he unloads his attack from the backcourt, the shuttle seems to descend from a different altitude. Over the past two years, Ayush has quietly built a compelling case as India’s next big men’s singles hope, someone who combines youthful aggression with an unmissable physical presence.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Now 20, he stands at the cusp of the elite, having broken into the world’s top 30 and picked up his maiden BWF World Tour title at the 2025 US Open Super 300. Last week, Ayush took down Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist, at the Malaysia Open Super 1000. It wasn’t just a win that jolted the draw; it was a marker. Indian men’s singles, long anchored by the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, now has another towering presence knocking at the door, armed with a game built for the modern era.
Ayush’s rise has been steady. The first major sign came in 2023 when he clinched bronze at the World Junior Championships. On the senior circuit, he finished runner-up at the 2023 Odisha Masters Super 100 tournament.The following year saw Ayush come into close quarters with greatness. Training with two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen offered him more than just high-quality rallies. “Training with Viktor… it was special,” Ayush told TOI on Monday. “You get to learn a lot from him. He gave me some inputs, which have been really helpful. I got to observe, firsthand, how he manages himself on and off court. The intensity in his training, the discipline.”
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Inevitably, comparisons followed. Two towering figures, both aggressive by instinct, both capable of turning rallies with brute force. “I think we have a pretty similar game. We both like to attack,” he said. “Really good to know that I am called ‘Axelsen of India’, but I think I would like to chart my own path. Viktor is someone who I’ve looked up to. He is my idol. He is a complete player. He has achieved everything. So, I think, there’s no comparison.”Height, as Axelsen himself once discovered, is both a gift and a challenge. Ayush is acutely aware of that duality. “He spoke about the pros and cons of being really tall,” Ayush said of the conversations he had with Axelsen.“Growing up, he was not really good at his defence. That is something I am facing right now, but I am working on that aspect of my game. For tall players, the test is often closer to the net. The front court movement is really tough. You really have to be strong in your physicality and have strong legs.”Ayush has set his eyes on the elite bracket of world badminton. With wins over top-tier players bolstering his belief, he is no longer just happy to participate. “The goal is to rise up in the rankings. My target is to be in the top 10 by the year end,” he said. That mindset will be tested again when he opens his India Open campaign against Lakshya Sen. Their recent meetings have been close, but the results have gone Lakshya’s way. “I think we had some great matches last year. Hope we can have another great match, but I am on the winning side,” Ayush said.
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