Last month, when India’s squad for the Thomas & Uber Cup was announced, Ayush Shetty was a young-and-upcoming 20-year-old who was getting his maiden call-up.

When India takes to the court in Denmark from April 24, he will be its most in-form player, having made a stirring run to the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) final in Ningbo, China, last week.

Ayush has broken into the world’s top-20 and there will be expectations galore. But he is confidence personified, despite 2026 being only his second full year on the senior circuit.

“My expectations [from myself] are always high, and I take people’s expectations as a challenge,” Ayush said at the Centre for Badminton Excellence here on Thursday.

“When I won the Super 300 [U.S. Open in 2025], I did not see it as a surprise. Even when I was assured of a medal at the Asian Championships, I believed that I could win the tournament,” the World No. 18 said.

This confidence manifested in victories over three top-10 players at BAC — the then World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, No. 4 Jonatan Christie and No. 7 Li Shi Feng.

“I had never beaten three top-10 players,” stated Ayush, who was No. 25 then. “It has always been like one victory [over an elite player] and then a loss. This run gives me the confidence that I can maintain my level for a longer period. Even my second-round opponent Chi Yu Jen (No. 20) was a very tricky player.

“Going into the All England [in early March], I felt that I was at my 100%. But the results were different (first round defeat). That is why BAC was important — to keep my confidence and belief high.”

The one dull moment in an otherwise golden few days for Ayush was the retirement on Wednesday of double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, whom he idolises and has even trained with in Dubai.

“It’s a bit sad. I always wanted him to retire on the court. He deserved it,” said Ayush about the great Dane who last played competitively in October 2025.

“I had told him in 2024 that we will play [competitively] soon. He said ‘sure, I have a couple of more years’. I will always have the regret that I could never play him”.