Star Indian men’s singles shuttler Ayush Shetty has admitted that the pressure on the team ahead of the Thomas Cup quarterfinals was a bit more, adding that it eased on him as his seniors gave him a 2-0 lead to play with while facing All England champion Lin Chun-Yi.
After playing a key role in India’s 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Chinese Taipei, Ayush said that the team believes it can reclaim the title it last won in 2022.
Ayush bagged a brilliant 21-16, 21-17 victory over Lin Chun-Yi in the second singles to seal the contest.
“We believe that we can go all the way. It has always been like this. We have a solid team and everyone believes that we can do it,” Ayush said while speaking to BWF.
Comparing the knockout clash to the group stage, Ayush
admitted there was added pressure but credited India’s early momentum for easing the situation.
“Yesterday was the group stage, but today there was a bit more pressure. Being 2-0 up made it a bit easier. I think I played with confidence and I am happy to win for the team,” Ayush said.
The star shuttler added that his strategy was to stay aggressive and deny his opponent chances to dictate play.
“He (Lin) is an All England champion and has a really strong attack. The plan was to attack more and not give him many chances and I think I executed that pretty well,” Ayush said.
Playing the first singles, Lakshya Sen saved two match points to script an 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 victory over the world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen to set the tone.
Lakshya credited a change in mindset and a more proactive approach for his brilliant comeback victory, saying that he stopped ‘overthinking’ and trusted his instincts in the crucial moments.
