A major shock in Chinese badminton: "The world No. 1 fell in the first round"... Switch becomes the 'victim of an upset' against a promising 21-year-old

*This content was translated by AI.

Chinese badminton has been hit by a major shock from the very first day of the tournament. Men's singles world No. 1 and defending champion Switch (30) fell to a promising 21-year-old.

China News Network reported on the 18th (Korean time), "Top-seeded Switch engaged in a tight three-game battle with India's newcomer Aayush Shetty (21) but ultimately lost." It added, "This is an unexpected and shocking elimination. Switch failed to advance to the round of 32 in men's singles."

Switch lost to Shetty 1-2 (14-21, 21-13, 19-21) in the first round of the 2026 Badminton World Championships men's singles held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India, the previous day.

It was shaky from the start. Switch lost the first game 14-21 and wavered. Although he seemed to regain his rhythm by winning the second game 21-13, he was dragged along again by Shetty in the final third game. Trailing 5-11, Switch mounted a fierce late comeback but ultimately failed to turn the match around, losing 19-21.

The result was shocking for China. Switch is the men's singles world No. 1 and the defending champion who won the world championship title last year. He was considered a strong favorite in this tournament as well, but he bowed his head after just one match after being held back by Shetty.

Shetty stepped onto the world championship stage for the first time in his life through this tournament. However, by knocking out the world No. 1 from his debut match, he became the protagonist of an upset that will never be forgotten.

This was not their first encounter. Before this match, Switch had faced Shetty three times and won all of them. In particular, at the Asian Championships final held last April, he subdued Shetty in just 40 minutes.

Reuters also evaluated, "Considering the head-to-head record between the two players, Shetty's victory today was even more dramatic."

Shetty cited the enthusiastic support of home fans as the driving force behind his victory. He said, "The crowd cheered for me and gave me great strength. Thanks to their continuous support, I gained tremendous energy."

China's pain did not end with Switch's defeat. Another Chinese player, Wong Hong-yang, also lost 0-2 to Japan's Yushi Tanaka and failed to advance to the next round.

Only Li Shifeng, the men's singles gold medalist at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, defeated Dmitri Panarin (Kazakhstan) 2-0 and advanced to the round of 32. China News Network reported, "Li Shifeng became the only Chinese player to advance to the men's singles round of 32."

Last year at the world championships held in Paris, France, China succeeded in reaching the finals in all five events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. At that time, they won two gold medals and three silver medals. They added another bronze medal in mixed doubles, securing a total of six medals.

However, this year has been significantly shaky from the start. In particular, in men's singles, two out of the three Chinese players who competed on the first day were eliminated.

China News Network pointed out, "With this year's tournament being held in India, high temperatures and humidity, as well as stadium conditions, are having some impact on the players' performance."

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*This content was translated by AI.