On August 17, 2026, Chinese media Xinhua News Agency reported that men's singles defending champion Shi Yuqi (Shi Yuqi) was unexpectedly eliminated in the first round at the Badminton World Championships, which opened in New Delhi, India.

The article introduced that in the men's singles first round held on the 17th, Shi was defeated by local Indian Ayush Shetty 1-2 (14-21, 21-13, 19-21), making it the biggest upset on the opening day of the tournament. Shi made many noticeable errors in the first game and lost 14-21, and although he took back the second game 21-13, the final third game saw him heavily trailing 5-16 in a difficult situation, and despite his tenacity in the final stages, he ran out of strength and lost 19-21.

Furthermore, it was pointed out that Shetty is a capable player who, despite losing to Shi in the final of the Asian Championships in April this year, achieved second place, and he was the most dangerous opponent a seeded player could face in the first round. On the other hand, Shi was said to have been troubled by injuries since the men's team competition "Thomas Cup" in May.

And, it was reported that after the match, Shi said "miracles don't happen that often" and reflected that he had done his best to recover from a large deficit.

In addition, the article reported that in men's singles, 8th seed Li Shifeng (Li Shifeng) defeated Panarin of Kazakhstan 21-7, 21-10 to secure a straightforward victory, while 16th seed Weng Hongyang (Weng Hongyang) suffered a straight-sets defeat to Japan's Yushi Tanaka 17-21, 14-21.

Furthermore, in contrast to the upset-ridden men's singles, the article reported that Chinese players had a smooth start in women's singles and doubles. (Edited and translated by Kawajiri)